Virginia “Ginger” A. Schwarz, 70, of Manitowoc, passed peacefully into the arms of her Savior on Friday, November 19, 2021, surrounded by her family at Holy Family Memorial Medical Center.
Ginger was born on January 30, 1951 to the late Carl H. and Phyllis D. (Johnson) Meyers in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She attended school at First German Evangelical Lutheran School and graduated from Manitowoc Lutheran High School in 1969. She then went on to attend the Milwaukee School of Nursing, graduating in 1972. Shortly after completing her nursing degree, she was united in marriage to Carl W. Schwarz on July 14, 1973. Ginger’s nursing career spanned many years at Holy Family Memorial Medical Center beginning in 1973 until her retirement in 2009. She also earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree through Silver Lake College. In 2010 she faced a major life challenge and was the recipient of a double lung transplant. The success of that surgery allowed Ginger to enjoy her life for many more years and she became the longest living lung transplant recipient in Wisconsin. Volunteering was also very important to Ginger. She volunteered at Repeat Performance and was the founder of the Manitowoc County’s Organ and Stem Cell Transplant Support Group.
Survivors include her three children: Nicole (Kevin) Wunder of Madison, Christopher (Katie) Schwarz of Viroqua, and Rachel Schwarz of Madison; eight grandchildren: Halie Peplinski, Maxwell, Hope, and Isobel Tobie, Noah, Madelyn, Liam, and Jaxon Schwarz; her sister: Patricia (Russ) Schwalbe; her brother-in-law: Duane (Denay) Oyen; her mother-in-law, Jacqueline (John) Sosnosky; and other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Carl “Chuck” Schwarz; parents, Carl and Phyllis Meyers; sister, Lynne Oyen; and grandson, Noah Peplinski.
A memorial service will be at 12:00 noon on Friday, December 10, 2021 at First German Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1033 South 8th Street, Manitowoc, with Pastor Jacob Hoff officiating. Family and friends may call beginning at 9:00 a.m. until the time of service at the church. Cremation has taken place at the Harrigan Parkside Crematory and Chapel with burial of the urn in Evergreen Cemetery following the service. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harriganparksidefuneralhome.com.
The family requests that masks be worn at the church during the visitation and the memorial service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to be made in Ginger’s name to the Gift of Life Transplant House, First German Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, or the 1969 scholarship fund at Manitowoc Lutheran High School.
The Harrigan Parkside Funeral Home and Crematory, North 11th and St. Clair streets, Manitowoc, is assisting the family with funeral arrangements.
