Patricia Swartz, 76. of Pierre passed away Wednesday August 27, 2025. A visitatio will be Friday September 5, 2025 from 12:00 -1:30pm at Community Bible Church in Pierre. Funeral Service will be Friday September 5, 2025 at 1:30pm at Community Bible Church in Pierre with burial at Riverside Cemetery.
Patricia Ann Swartz was born in Parkston, South Dakota, on March 5, 1949 to loving parents Ernest and Florence Romkema. She was raised on a farm near Corsica, South Dakota, with her two brothers, Fred and George. During her childhood years Pat was blessed to live close to a large extended family that included grandparents, many aunts and uncles, and 12 cousins who grew up sharing life together in a close-knit Dutch community.
Pat graduated from Corsica high school in 1967. She attended Southern State College in Springfield, South Dakota, and earned her degree in elementary education. While in Springfield Pat met Jack Swartz and fell in love. Jack finished his degree and joined the Navy. They stayed in touch during his deployment to southeast Asia and were married after his military service on August 10, 1973.
Pat and Jack first lived in Chamberlain, SD where she taught school and he worked for the corps of engineers. In 1980 they moved to Pierre and settled there. Pat stepped away from teaching school in order to be fully committed to raising their children and managing their household. Their sons Michael, Ryan, and Jeffrey were blessed to have an incredibly devoted, kind, gentle, and self-sacrificing mother. When the boys were older, Pat returned to the classroom, where she served as a substitute teacher and later as a special education tutor.
In her younger years, Pat was a gifted artist and musician. She enjoyed painting, playing the piano, and singing with the college choir in Springfield. While Pat had many talents and interests, her identity was always found in her faith in Christ. She was introduced to the Christian gospel by her parents and developed a faith in Jesus Christ as her personal savior at a young age. Pat loved and served Christ with an unwavering devotion. She began sharing the gospel with her sons when they were very young and rejoiced to see them walking with the Lord in faith. She and Jack were members at Community Bible Church in Pierre for 45 years. Pat served in many areas within the church, loved to study the Bible, and exemplified a life marked by the fruits of the spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
One of Pat’s most cherished roles in life was that of a grandmother. She adored her grandchildren: Cooper (Madelyn), Jonah, Camden, Jackson, Caiyah, Levi, and Samuel. Whether it was teaching them something new, reading books together, playing games, listening to their stories, or faithfully attending their concerts, hockey games, golf tournaments, school plays, or dance recitals, Pat was their biggest fan and cheerleader.
Pat was diagnosed with dementia in her early 60’s, but she didn’t want that to define her. While her condition slowly declined over the last decade of her life, she remained active in her church community as long as she could and relished many family gatherings and important milestones with her grandchildren. On the morning of August 27, 2025, Pat passed from this life and entered the presence of her Savior.
She is survived by her husband Jack; sons Michael (Amanda), Ryan (Sylvia), and Jeff; and brothers Fred (Priscilla) Romkema and George (Shirley) Romkema. She will be deeply missed by her grandchildren, special nephew Adam, many other nieces and nephews, and several cousins.
