Obituary for Lyle H. Swatek Lyle Henry Swatek, age 90 of Lake Geneva, WI passed away to eternal life on Sunday, April 8, 2018 at his residence surrounded by family and close friends. Lyle Henry Swatek was born in Port Washington, Wisconsin on March 1, 1928 to the late Joseph and Ester (Rantz) Swatek. Swatek’s father was the local Standard Oil agent in Port Washington, WI.
He was initiated into the petroleum business early in life when he started working at his father’s station at the tender age of 11. Swatek’s career as an oil man was briefly interrupted by his 2 years of service in the U.S. Navy during WWII but continued when he returned home to Wisconsin and purchased his first service station. At the age of 21, he married Audrey Robel of Saukville, WI.
Shortly after, he moved to Silver Lake, Wisconsin, and when a Shell franchise became available he became a Shell-branded marketer in Silver Lake incorporating three other marketerships into Swatek Sales Corporation. He grew the corporation throughout Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois eventually encompassing branded locations with Unocal 76, Mobil, Citgo, and Marathon. Lyle Swatek’s success in the petroleum business ultimately resulted in him serving as President for both the Wisconsin Petroleum Association and the National Petroleum Marketers Association of America.
Swatek also represented the interests of petroleum marketers in Washington D.C. for many years. Lyle’s business interests brought him to the Lake Geneva area where he became involved with various community organizations. He served as Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and served on the Geneva Lake Development Corporation.
He was one of 10 local businessmen that founded the Lake Geneva Airways and later the Community Bank of Elkhorn. His local business interests also included The Trolley of Lake Geneva, and the very popular Red Geranium Restaurant. Swatek was very proud of his service on the USS Little Rock during WWII.
He remained in contact with his shipmates over the decades attending reunions on an annual basis. He was instrumental in the creation of the USS Little Rock Museum in Buffalo, New York, which is dedicated to educating area youth about life on a Naval vessel. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Dotty (Hanny) Swatek, brother Paul “Duke” (Nancy) Swatek, son Mark (Selena) Swatek; daughter, Jennifer Johnson, son James (Lisa) Johnson, grandchildren Dr. Kevin Swatek and Evan Smithson, dear nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.
Lyle was preceded in death by his wife, Audrey (Robel) Swatek, his son, Grant, brothers Howard, James, Fritz, Donald, Ralph, and sister, Ruth. Visitation will take place at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church (148 Main Street, Lake Geneva) on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00 p.m. Private interment will be at the Salem Mound Cemetery in Salem, WI. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Kent R. Siegel Memorial Scholarship at USS Little Rock Association, Inc., (c/o Frank Berglas, 63 Barnes Road, Stamford, CT 06902-1201).
Steinke-Lazarczyk Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Lake Geneva, WI is proudly serving the Swatek family.
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