John Irvin Sweigard of Malvern and Mechanicsburg, Pa., and formerly of Millersburg, Pa., and Seaford, was born Aug. 23, 1929, and died June 28, 2026. He deeply loved and was devoted to Mary Louise (née Kurtz), his wife and companion of 68 years. They met in June 1948 while picking sour cherries at the Cummings farm in Millersburg—cherries that, John said, grew sweeter every year.

Born at his grandparents’ farmhouse in Halifax, Pa., to Ida Ellen (nee Shoop) and John Emory Sweigard, the Pennsylvania Dutch family of three would move to Millersburg during his toddler years. Six siblings would join the family. From first grade into adulthood, John got up at 4 a.m. on workdays to help deliver milk for the family’s small business dairy.    

Following graduation from Lebanon Valley College (1952) with a major in chemistry, John worked his entire career for DuPont at the Seaford, Delaware location. Even though John was proud to work for DuPont in the Nylon Capital of the World, he always had a yearning to work in the natural world. He was passionate about nature and the outdoors, fishing, being on the Susquehanna River, and had an amazing eye for locating arrowheads, fossils, and wildlife.

John and Mary Lou raised their four children in Farmington and Seaford. He was thrifty with money, giving highest priority to investing in his children’s education. He manually gardened a large plot of land, providing fresh food in the summer and a freezer of vegetables for year-round consumption.

John was a complex person who was a deep thinker but also had a mischievous side to him and had a great sense of humor. He had a beautiful bass voice and could sing well even in his 90’s, a talent he had carefully hidden! He was a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles and played countless games of pinochle, 5 crowns, and solitaire. During the 40+ years he lived in Delaware, John attended Bethany Church of the Brethren in Farmington.

After all the penny pinching and with kids grown, John took early retirement as DuPont was downsizing. Afterwards, he and Mary Lou became world travelers, including a visit to the USSR which John found fascinating given his allure to WWII history.

Following Mary Lou’s death in 2020, he lived in Malvern with family as his dementia progressed and his health declined. With a good cup of coffee, he loved watching all the wildlife in the backyard, going for rides and on vacations and seeing family. He was deeply bonded to the family cats and missed them terribly during the times he needed to stay in a facility.

While preparing for his return to the Malvern area, John died during a transitory stay at Messiah Lifeways following hospitalizations and rehab.

John was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, sisters Mary Crissinger and Laura (Polly Chandler) and several in-laws. He is survived by those who will sorely miss him: siblings Ellen Trevitz, William Sweigard, George Sweigard, Willa Lyter; four children: Susan Balcarcel of Merced, CA, Jim (Barb) Sweigard of Elkton, Laurie (Jackie) Sweigard of Malvern, David (Cathy) Sweigard of Shrewsbury, Pa.; eight grandchildren: Peter (Alison) Sweigard, Naomi (Kevin) Nash, Rachel (Aaron) Carmichael, Jonathan (Kristynn) Boyajian, Eric (Ting) Sweigard, Samuel Balcarcel (Sophie), Andrew Sweigard and Benjamin Sweigard; nine great-grandchildren, and a number of in-laws, nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.

Interment was private at Oak Hill Cemetery in Millersburg; a Celebration of Life will be held on July 26 at Ned Smith Center for Nature and Arts, 176 Water Company Rd., Millersburg, PA 17061. In John’s memory donations may be made to Ned Smith Center for Nature and Arts, (https://secure.nedsmithcenter.org/forms/donate) or the Millersburg Ferry Boat Association, P.O. Box 93, Millersburg, PA 17061 (https://www.millersburgferry.org/donation/).