| Notes |
Full page bio on Barner Swartz in the # 27 - 2000 - Barner Family News
letter
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Sunbury Daily Item
4/15/2008
Barner Schumann Swartz
MILLERSTOWN - Barner Schumann Swartz, 88, of North Market
Street, died Thursday, April 10, 2008, at his home.
He was born Sept. 4, 1919, a son of Banks Leister Swartz and Dora
Ann Barner Swartz. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, the former
Wilma Jean Bitting.
Born and reared in rural Juniata Co, near Richfield, Barner
graduated from Liverpool High School in 1936, received his bachelor's
degree in music from Susquehanna University in 1940 and his
master's degree in music education from PA State
University in 1949.
Barner began his teaching career in the Millerstown schools in 1940.
When the district reorganized in 1949, he became director of bands in
the new Greenwood School District and held that position until his ret
irement in 1977.
During his tenure, the Greenwood High School band won four superior ra
tings in marching
band competitions and five superior ratings in district and state musi
c contests. Barner
served as guest conductor for various county and district festivals an
d adjudicated
umerous music contests. He was a member of the National Advisory Boar
d of Modern
Music Masters, the national music honor society for high school musi
c students.
In 1965, he was honored by his students, past and present, in a "Thi
s is Your Life"
program, and in 1967, he was selected as Teacher of the Year by the Pe
y County
Education Association and Region K educational unit of the state. He w
as further honored
by receiving a citation from the state Department of Education for out
standing contributions
in the field of music education. In 1972, he received the Phi Beta M
u Outstanding
Bandmaster Award for the state of PA, awarded by the Nu Chapter of the
National Bandmasters Fraternity.
Following his 37-year teaching career, in 1977, Barner organized the G
eenwood
Community Band and served as its conductor for 19 years. He then hel
d the title of
conductor emeritus and continued his association in the band and affil
iated brass choir as a
member of the French horn section until 2005.
Barner was an active member of Highland United Presbyterian Church, wh
ere he was an
elder, choir member, choir director and assistant choir director for m
any years. He was
instrumental in the foundation of the Eastern Perry County Recital Ser
ies concerts
presented at the church, featuring talented musicians from the centra
l PA area.
During World War II, Barner served in the Army as a bandsman, playin
g French horn in the
216th Army Ground Forces Band at Camp Gordon, Ga. He later became a me
mber of the
553rd Air Force Band of the PA Air National Guard, where he was a memb
er of
the French horn section and vocal soloist. After 22 years of service
, he retired as a senior
master sergeant, band superintendant and assistant bandmaster. He wa
s awarded the Air
Force Commendation Medal for distinguished and meritorious service.
Barner was a member of the PA Music Educators Association, Music Educa
tors
National Conference, Association of Concert Bands, National Band Assoc
iation, PA
State Education Association, PA Association of School Retirees, Phi Be
ta Mu
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National Bandmasters Association, Air Force Sergeants Association, Enl
isted Association of
the National Guard of the United States and the Air Force Retired Musi
cians Association.
He also belonged to the Millerstown Moose, the Perry Valley Grange an
d the Liverpool
American Legion and was a 60-year charter member and past president o
f the Millerstown
Lions Club. He was a past member of the American Legion Post 27 Band o
f Harrisburg,
where he was the conductor for two years and the associate conductor f
or seven years.
Barner was a Master Mason in Newport Lodge 381. Other Masonic affiliat
ions included Tall
Cedars Forest 88, the Zembo Shrine and its concert band, the Harrisbur
g Consistory and its
orchestra and the Perry/Juniata Shrine Club.
Barner's special honors included the Perry County Council of the Art
s award for Service to
the Arts, in 1989; the Perry County Association of School Retirees Out
standing Volunteer
Award, from 1995 to 1996; the Millerstown Junior Chamber of Commerce O
utstanding
Senior Citizen Award, in 1991; and the Perry Valley Grange Community C
itizen Award, in
2001.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are two daughters, Lois Yingling a
d her husband William
of Freeburg and Linda MacAskill of Gettysburg; two grandchildren, Mar
k Yingling and his
wife Teresa of Lancaster and Kristen Yingling and her fiancé Mike Grim
sley of Leonardtown,
Md.; two great-granddaughters, Jenna and Amanda Yingling; one brother
, G. Byron Swartz
and his wife Joy of Millerstown; two sisters, Ruth Swartz and her husb
and Lawrence
Cauffman of Richfield and Shirley Sheaffer of Mount Pleasant Mills
; a sister-in-law, Miriam
Swartz of Richfield; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Robert MacAskill; a brother
, Lloyd, and his wife,
Leslie; a brother, M. Stanley; and a brother-in-law, Kenneth Sh
Published in The Daily Item on 4/15/2008.
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1919 - 2008 (88 years) Has 18 ancestors and 7 descendants in this family tree.
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