Seymour Schwartz (Jan. 3, 1920-November 28, 2018). Affectionately known by many as “Mr. King” (his business namesake, “King the Tailor”), Seymour Schwartz’s beginnings were far from king-like. At the age of 16, he and his sister immigrated from Poland through Ellis Island. His mother and other siblings remained in Poland. Seymour started his new life pushing a vegetable cart in New York. Several years later, he became an electrician’s helper. In 1939, Seymour enlisted in the U.S. Army. During WWII he spent a large portion of time manning the post office of a U.S. prisoner of war facility. After the war, Seymour migrated south to Mississippi where he opened a tailor shop on Farrish Street in Jackson and later married Ida Lee Bennett. In time, the tailor shop grew into King’s department store on Capital Street. In the early 1980’s, Seymour earned a real estate broker’s license and started Schwartz Realty.
After WWII, Seymour spent a large portion of time trying to locate his family in Poland. While visiting Israel, he was able to find distant cousins but unfortunately discovered that his mother and other siblings perished in the German concentration camps.
He is survived by his three children, Phillip, Richard and Sonja, nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be 10:00am Friday November 30, 2018 preceded by visitation form 9-10am at Beth Israel Congregation. Burial will be in Beth Israel Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please to donate to the U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024-2150 or to the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Museum, P.O. Box 3477. Jerusalem 91034, Israel.
He was a great father! Family was his first love.
