Jane Schwark

Jane Elizabeth (Walker) Schwark on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, age 83, entered the Kingdom of her Lord peacefully at home after struggling with cancer for a few years.

A loving and caring Christian wife, mother, grandmother “NANA”, devoted friend to many people, and an entrepreneur of many retail shops where she loved her employees.  Jane was a woman that was loving, strong, and generous and who touched the hearts of many. Jane enjoyed family gatherings and holidays, trips to Dubuque and Madison for movies and food, trips to Branson, Missouri for shows and food, Tucson, Arizona in the winter for warm weather and buying at the gem and mineral shows.  Additionally she was excited for the Las Vegas clothing and jewelry shows buying for the shops.   

Things of importance to Jane were her lifetime partner and husband Bryan, her children and grandchildren.  She valued her church, her many friends and bridge groups, and the dogs and cats that often lived with the Schwarks.

She was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, September 5th, 1941, the daughter of Karl and Eva (Radtke) Walker

During most of her school years she lived in Putnam Heights, a new sub-division in Eau Claire.  She attended the lower grades of the Campus School of the then Eau Claire State Teachers College, then Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire.  Her father, a carpenter, was a Norwegian immigrant and built their home. She attended Eau Claire High School, which became Eau Claire Memorial High School when new facilities were built.  She and Bryan sat together in English class for four years. The classes were alphabetized and Walker and Schwark always sat near to each other.  At the end of sophomore year Bryan asked her for a date and she accepted at age 15.  Jane was Bryan's first and only girlfriend.  They were high school sweethearts and attended Wisconsin State University – Eau Claire together.  Bryan wanted his degree before marriage and finally said if Jane had $1,000 they could get married. At that time Bryan had $200 in the bank.  Jane finished in 3 ½ years with a degree in Elementary Teaching in January 1963 and began teaching in Menomonee, Wisconsin.  She saved the $1,000 and they were married August 10, 1963.  Bryan finished his degree in Social Sciences and Library Sciences in June of 1964. Jane found them jobs in Tonopah Nevada Nye County School System, her teaching first grade and Bryan as School Librarian for the county.  There they taught in school years 1964-65 and 1965-66.  Summers they went to Madison and Bryan attended UW-Madison and worked on his professional library degree.  Summer of 1966 they left Nevada and lived in Married Student Housing on the Madison Campus until Bryan obtained his graduate degree in spring of 1967. Jane typed all of Bryan's high school, college, and graduate papers.  Daughter Debra Jane Schwark was born October 29, 1966.  

 In June of 1967, the Schwarks moved to Platteville, Wisconsin, where Bryan became a member of the library faculty at UW-Platteville.  Jane was involved in numerous faculty wives groups, one being bridge playing, which she excelled at the rest of her life.  Daughter Suzanne Tanya was born August 31, 1968.  Jane taught Head Start in Lancaster, Wisconsin, one summer and then joined Bryan in his “rock hobby.”  Son Daniel Bryan arrived January 10, 1971.  Bryan cut and polished agates and other semi-precious stones and the Schwarks made rock decorator pieces and jewelry which they sold.  Jane also typed the manuscript twice for the book “Guide to Periodicals in Education and Its Academic Disciplines” 1975, by William L. Camp and Bryan L. Schwark.   

Jane traveled in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota on weekends taking one or two kids and exhibiting and selling decorative rocks and jewelry at Arts and Craft Shows, including the “Summerfest Festival” in Milwaukee, and in shopping malls.  Eventually she was invited to “The House on the Rock” and operated a small shop in the Artist Village for about ten years with Suzanne and Debbie helping.  For a period of time Jane had a shop in Dubuque at the Kennedy Mall, then moved to downtown Dubuque by the Julian Inn, and another shop in downtown Platteville, “Bryan's House of Rocks” on Main Street. Eventually she had several shops at different places and times in Galena, Illinois, on Main Street.  In 1990 a permanent location at 102 South Main Street was named “Earth's Treasures” and is still in business today.  In 1994 Jane purchased a building at 305 South Main Street, and helped her son and to be daughter-in-law, Penny, open a small café-coffee shop named “Boone's Place.”  After ten years “Boone's Place” moved to the top three floors of the Galena Cellar's Winery Building on Main Street and continued there for another ten years.  Jane established “Eureka” retail sales when “Boone's Place” vacated the 305 South Main location.  Eureka is still operating today.  She was an exhibitor at the La Crosse Christmas Holiday show for about 40 years.  Jane accomplished all of this while raising a family and keeping her husband happy by getting involved in his “rock hobby.” She was great at designing retail stores as well as their home, which was featured in the Platteville Journal.

She is survived by her husband Bryan, daughter Suzanne (Russell) Dudan and grandchildren Madeline and Maxwell, son Daniel (Penny) Schwark, son-in-law Mark Schoenfeldt and grandchildren Emily and Matthew Schoenfeldt, her nephews Mark (Cheryl) Walker, Jeff (Linda) Feirn, John (Jodi) Feirn, nieces Julie (Tony) Peterson, Mary Jo (Melvin) Bloomquist.  She was the godmother for Mary Jo Rohlfs. 

She was preceded in death by her daughter Debra Schoenfeldt, mother and father Karl (Eva Radtke) Walker, her brother Lawrence (Twilia) Walker, sisters Virginia (Vernon) Rohlfs, Barbara (William) Feirn, a nephew Michael Rohlfs, and mother and father-in-law Loretta and Lester Schwark.  

Visitation will be 5:00-7:00 pm on Thursday, January 9th at the Melby Funeral Home in Platteville, Wisconsin.   

The Funeral Services, officiated by the Reverend Jasmine Tesdahl, will be at the Lutheran Church of Peace on Friday, January 10th beginning at 12:00 noon.  Preceded by another visitation starting at 11:00, one hour before services. A luncheon will follow the service.  

In lieu of flowers consider a donation to the American Cancer Society, the Lutheran Church of Peace Platteville, or marked for a Memorial Bench to remember Jane, to be placed next to our daughter's at Platteville's Smith Park.  Thank you.