John J. Schwartz

Palm Coast Observer
Tributes & Obituaries

John J. Schwartz, 95, of Palm Coast, FL, passed away peacefully on March 8, 2024. He was born August 7, 1928, in Yonkers, NY.

John attended Manhattan Prep, where he was a three-sport athlete, and spent summers as a camp counselor at Camp Riverdale, Adirondack, NY, where his lifelong love of hiking and the outdoors began. He graduated with a BA in Political Science from Manhattan College. As a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, he served as a platoon leader during the Korean War, and as a reservist until 1959.

In 1954, John joined the FBI as a Special Agent in Indianapolis and Gary, IN. While stationed in San Francisco, CA, John met his future wife, Therese Scullion. They were married in 1958 in Chicago, IL, thus beginning a long, happy marriage and raising four children. John was then transferred to the New York office, primarily working in foreign intelligence. In 1969, he was assigned to FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and held supervisory positions in the Intelligence and General Investigative divisions. He was then designated the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Houston, TX and Newark, NJ offices. His final position was in New York as Special Agent in Charge of the Foreign Counterintelligence – Soviet Division. Upon retirement from the FBI in 1980, John served as VP of Intertel, a private security firm in New York.

In 1984, John and Therese retired and moved to Palm Coast. Always an active man, John enjoyed gardening, swimming, jogging, and playing tennis, well into his 80s. He was an avid reader of history and politics as well as The New York Times, which he read daily into his 90s. John and Therese were Eucharistic Ministers at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton RC Church. He was affiliated with the Former SA-FBI Greater Daytona Beach Chapter, and served as Commander of the Flagler/Palm Coast Chapter of the Military Order of World Wars. The foundation of John’s life was threefold: his Catholic faith, love of family, and duty to country. He loved visits from his children and grandchildren, and other family and friends, and traveled extensively in the US and Europe, and to Japan and Korea.

John is predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Therese, his parents John and Nellie (Higgins) Schwartz, and siblings Vivian Gluck, Veronica Lyons and Edmund Schwartz. He is survived by his children, Christine (William Corbett), Paula (Fabio Girelli-Carasi), Alaine Lee (Nam), and John (Noreen Carver); and grandchildren, Francesca and Chiara Carasi-Schwartz, Allison Loomis (Patrick), Megan Lee, Hogan and Jonah Carver, and great-granddaughter Naomi Loomis, and nieces and nephews.

John lived at Brookdale Palm Coast Assisted Living for over four years and our family is grateful for the care and community life that he and our mother received there. During the past six months, he was also cared for by the wonderful team from Halifax Health-Hospice.

His memorial service will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church on May 14, 2024 at 11:00 am.

The family of Mr. Schwartz have entrusted arrangements to Clymer Funeral Home & Cremations.