Donald Milton Schwentker was a birthright Friend, the son of long-time members U. L. “Gus” and Annabelle Schwentker. Don was born in Cincinnati on October 9, 1934, and was received into membership at Cincinnati Friends Meeting just five days later. He passed away on November 10, 2023, at 89 years of age. For some time, Don had been living in Alexandria, Virginia. Although he seldom had the opportunity to worship with us in person, he faithfully supported the work of the Meeting from afar.
Don attended Withrow High School and earned degrees at the University of Cincinnati in Mechanical Engineering and Law. He achieved the rating of Professional Engineer in the state of Ohio and was a member of the bar in Ohio and Washington, DC. He married Esther Conrad in June 1956.
After college, Don served in the U. S. Army as a Legal Officer of Third Group at Ft. Eustis, Virginia, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His post-military career began at the Federal Aviation Administration writing airworthiness directives. He transferred to what is now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to write the first National Highway Auto Safety Regulations in legal form. His co-op experience during engineering college at the Chrysler Corporation gave him exceptional knowledge of automobile manufacturing. After leaving the government, he represented Asian and European auto manufacturers in private practice as a lawyer and consultant for more than forty years, with an appearance on the nationally televised MacNeil/Lehrer Report regarding small car safety issues.
Don was an avid enthusiast for virtually anything that moved. He loved flying his own airplane and riding motorcycles. He also loved the Indianapolis car races and watched the Indy 500 every year. In addition, his photography was outstanding; it was used twice on the cover of a national magazine.
Traveling was what he enjoyed most, whether it was by airplane, car, ship, or train. He collected hundreds of T-shirts from places all over the globe, and proudly wore them when he returned to those countries. He loved communicating with friends and relatives by writing trip reports that described his travels and gave interesting facts about the places he visited. The last days of his life were spent on a transatlantic cruise. Experiencing chest pain, he was medivacked from Grand Turk to a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he passed away.
Don is survived by his wife, Esther; his son, David; his daughter, Jane Tosolt (Glenn); and grandchildren, Jillian and Olivia Tosolt.
Don supported the Moffitt Cancer Center. Donations in his memory may be sent to Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, MBC-FOUND, 12902 USF Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612.
