Eldora Schwab, 91, of Turlock, CA went peacefully into the presence of her Lord and Savior on June 15, 2012. Born in Turlock in 1921, and graduating from Turlock High School, she attended Modesto Junior College and Samuel Merritt Hospital (RN course) in Oakland. Later, she also took courses at Columbia Bible College in South Carolina.
On January 7, 1944 she married John Stewart Schwab. Following World War II and missionary training, Eldora, John and their 2 young sons departed for Japan. For 37 years, Eldora supported John in various ministries there, as their lives impacted many, especially university students in downtown Tokyo. (She truly had a "front row seat", watching Japan diligently dig itself out of postwar devastation to become a major economic power.) Throughout their marriage of 68 years, she unselfishly served and kept pace with John, who was always bursting with vision and new ideas. In addition to caring for her 5 children, she often edited ministry letters for John or enjoyed time spent with Japanese friends over tea or Bible study. She loved people and made friends easily. Above all, she is remembered for her thankful and loving spirit.
Music was always a hobby for Eldora. She sang in a high school girls' quintet, and much later, sang in the church and Covenant Village of Turlock choirs. Even into her 90s, she enjoyed playing the piano. She was gifted at expressing herself through poems and original songs. Her thirst for learning was insatiable, and she remained an avid reader even to her last days. She greatly valued being in daily e-mail contact with her kids living across the globe: Phil (Ann) Schwab of Reston, Virginia, Jonathan (Mary-Jane) Schwab of Wilmington, Delaware, LoAnne (Stan) Olson of Tokyo, Japan, David Schwab of Altadena, California, and Ruthi (Dave) Kuhn of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her prayers for others were priceless gifts, and she daily prayed that she would be a blessing to those around her.
Eldora is survived by her 5 children (above) as well as nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and a sister, Evadene (Harvey) Stranske, also of Turlock, CA.
Visitation will be at Allen Mortuary on Thursday, June 28th from 5 to 6:30 pm. On June 29 at 3 PM, a celebration of Eldora's life will be held at Covenant Village of Turlock in Berg Hall, 2125 N. Olive. Memorials may be given to help the tsunami-affected churches of Japan. Checks should be payable to TEAM, memo line: "Eldora Schwab Memorial" PO Box 969, Wheaton, IL 60187-0969. Please leave memories and condolences at www.allenmortuary.com.

Turlock Journal
Wednesday, June 27, 2012