On September 27, 1946 James Albert Schwander was born into this world.  On August 20, 2023 Jim, of Collinsville, Illinois, age 76, left this world to be with his Lord and Savior.  He was known as "Swaz" and other colorful nicknames to his good friends of which he had many.

Jim was a 1964 graduate of Collinsville High School and a U.S. Army Veteran.  On November 18, 1967 he married the love of his life, Lynn Douglas, at First Baptist Church in Collinsville where he was a lifelong member.  Jim and Lynn went on to have two children, Carl and Karen (Dressel).

Jim loved his church family and was a very active member, serving on numerous committees.  Each Monday morning, for many years he met with the "Oatmeal Gang" to attend to maintenance needs of the church building.  And even though he claimed to not be overly fond of children, he volunteered to help on many children's ministries even serving as Santa Claus on occasion.

Soon after high school Jim went to work for Granite City Steel.  After the interruption of a couple of years in the Army he returned there to work. He continued to work there, ultimately as an electrician, until his retirement in 2005.

Jim was also a sports fan.  One of his favorite activities was golf, of which he organized several events over many years.  He was the supervisor of umpires in the CBSL for several years and enjoyed umpiring American Legion baseball, as well as high school baseball and softball games. Jim loved high school and college basketball, and he was also a basketball referee.   He was instrumental in the creation of the CHS Holiday Basketball Tournament. He was such a huge Kahok fan and supporter, that he and his good friend and fellow official Ed Sarhage, were awarded honorary membership in the Kahok letterman's club (The Monogram Club), actually receiving letter jackets.  For over 30 years Jim was a worker at the scorers' table for SIUE men's and women's basketball games, serving as the supervisor for many of those years.  In 2011 Jim and his friend Ed were inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame as "Friends of Basketball".

Jim loved to engage in good natured banter with his friends that sometimes developed into friendly insults.  He could "dish it out" with the best of them.  But occasionally someone would have a clever comeback which would cause him to respond by saying, "that was cold man, I have feelings, you know."

Jim had a laid-back personality and didn't seem to get excited about too much.  Except one time when playing poker in the back of his van on the way to Champaign for an Illinois basketball game, when things weren't quite going his way, he sent a deck of cards flying down the highway.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents Albert and Nancy (nee McGovern) Schwander and his brother John Schwander.  He is survived by his wife of 55 years Lynn and their two children Carl (Pam) Schwander and Karen (Andrew) Dressel both of Collinsville; two grandchildren, Eliot Schwander of Sedona, Arizona and Ian Schwander of Collinsville; two sisters Joyce (Paul) Broadway of Phoenix, Arizona and Jane (Stephen) Helmkamp of Collinsville; Nancy (Helmkamp) Butterfield, Paul Helmkamp and many other dear nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be 4 - 7 p.m. on Friday, August 25, 2023 at First Baptist Church, 723 St. Louis Road, Collinsville, IL as well as 9 - 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 26, 2023.

Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the church.  Burial with military honors will be in Lake View Memorial Gardens in Fairview Heights, IL.

Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church in Collinsville or VITAS Healthcare (Hospice) and will be accepted at the visitation or donation may be mailed to:  Barry Wilson Funeral Home, 2800 N. Center St., Maryville, Illinois 62062.