Eugene Spedden Schwaninger

Eugene Spedden Schwaninger of Trappe, MD, passed away on June 1 at Easton Memorial Hospital. He was born in Easton, MD, on the family farm, Mount Pleasant, on Schwaninger Road near Peachblossom Creek on March 4, 1917 to Ella Irene Longenecker and Charles Francis Schwaninger. The Schwaninger family settled in Talbot County from the Allentown, PD, area in 1867, originally having emigrated from Germany some years earlier. Eugene was one of six children (Francis Albert, Charles Edgar, Mary Edith, Joseph Daniel, all deceased) and is survived by his youngest brother, John Oren, now living in Wimauma FL. He is also survived by his wife of 76 years, Anna May Jones Schwaninger, whom he married at the Easton Church of Brethren on December 25, 1935. They had known each other as childhood classmates in school. He has three children, Charles Marion Schwaninger and Ruth Ann Schwaninger Clendaniel of Trappe, and Thomas Tyler Schwaninger of Los Angeles, California; four grandchildren, Charles Wolfgang Schwaninger, Holly Ann Musselman, Gena Lea Levy, and Kathleen Georganna Clendaniel; and seven great- grandchildren, all living in Maryland. He and his wife owned Milton Farm located on Llandaff Road (now Cooke’s Hope at Llandaff) for 30 years. In 1967, he sold the farm and moved to his current home on Manadier Road in Trappe where he continued some farming. He also became a school bus contractor for Talbot County Public Schools and especially enjoyed driving the Easton High School cheerleaders to basketball games. He worked as a rural mail carrier in Trappe and was on the board as caretaker for White Marsh Cemetery. He was a member of the Easton Church of the Brethren his entire life. He was active in the community as a charter member of the Ruritan Club from 1966 until 2010 when he became an honorary member. He served as a long time member of the Talbot Farm Bureau, also on the board of Southern States and received numerous achievement awards as a member of the Talbot County Corn Club. Believing in the importance of a good education, he sent all of his children to college even though he only finished 8th grade due to family farming obligations. In his later years, he and his wife enjoyed winters in Arcadia, FL, and attended the Arcadia Church of the Brethren along with members of the Longenecker family. A visitation will be held at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A. on 200 S. Harrison Street, in Easton, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5. A funeral Service will be held at the Easton Church of the Brethren, 412 S. Harrison Street, at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 6. Burial will follow in White Marsh Cemetery on Route 50 and Manadier Road with a reception at the family home immediately afterwards. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Easton Church of the Brethren or the Arcadia Church of the Brethren.

Eugene Spedden Schwaninger

March 4, 1917 - June 1, 2012