John J.H. "Joe" Schwarz, M.D.

HON. JOHN J. H. SCHWARZ, M.D.

John Joseph Henry “Joe” Schwarz, M.D., former Battle Creek Mayor, State Senator and U.S. Congressman, died Wednesday, May 27, 2026. He was 88 years-old.

He was born November 15, 1937, to Dr. Frank and Helen (Brennan) Schwarz. For much of his childhood the Schwarz family lived at Fort Custer where his father, a U.S. Army Medical Officer, was stationed at the VA Hospital and his mother served as an Army Nurse. She treated patients at the Percy Jones Army Hospital in Battle Creek, which later became the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center, which Joe vigorously defended throughout his career recognizing these jobs were vital to the people of Battle Creek. Following the war, his father retired from the Army and the family moved to a home in downtown Battle Creek where his father practiced medicine for several years.

Joe attended Fremont Elementary, W. K. Kellogg Junior High School and graduated from Battle Creek Central High School where he was President of the Class of 1955. He was a three-sport letterman in football, baseball, and a member of the Battle Creek Central swim team that captured the 1955 Class A State Title.

Following graduation, he attended the University of Michigan, earning a degree in History in 1959. He played football at Michigan until, as he said he looked at his grades and realized “you better get your tail into the classroom and get serious.” He was a member of the Men’s Glee Club and always enjoyed breaking into song with unofficial versions of Big Ten fight songs. He was a Life Loyal member of the Theta Theta Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity and was awarded the prestigious “Significant Sig” Award by the fraternity. He was a lifelong and devoted Wolverine and seldom missed a football game in Ann Arbor and attended several Rose Bowls.

He earned his medical degree from Wayne State University in 1964, and interned at Los Angeles County Hospital, which he often described as the best medical experience he’d ever had because it prepared him for the types of traumas he would treat later in his career.

Continuing his family’s record of service to the country, Joe joined the Navy requesting to be sent to Vietnam to serve with the Marines. He served as a battalion surgeon for the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment alongside combat units in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Later he was selected for diplomatic duty and became Assistant Naval Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia and served with the Central Intelligence Agency where he took part in several covert missions in Laos and Vietnam to help locate U.S. prisoners of war in Southeast Asia.

He met his wife, Anne Louise Ennis of Kalispell, Montana while serving with the CIA in Indonesia. Anne was also employed by the CIA, and he often joked that “where else would a girl from Kalispell, Montana meet a boy from Battle Creek, Michigan but in Southeast Asia.” Following the Vietnam war, and CIA service, Joe and Anne returned stateside and were married. He continued his training by completing a Fellowship in otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital in Boston. During their time in Boston their daughter Brennan was born.

Always intending to serve the community he had grown up in, Joe returned to Battle Creek in 1974. He began private practice and served the community as an ENT/head and neck surgeon for over 40 years. Also, he proudly served as the team physician for his beloved Battle Creek Central Bearcats football team. Joe was a strong proponent of Federally Qualified Health Systems and treated countless patients over the years, ensuring they had access to excellent care regardless of their insurance status.

He launched his first campaign for Congress in Michigan’s then 3rd Congressional District in 1976. As a political newcomer, he garnered 38 percent of the primary vote, but it didn’t deter him. Schwarz was successfully elected to the Battle Creek City Commission and became Mayor in 1984. During his tenure as Mayor, he led an effort to extend the runway at W. K. Kellogg Airport to 10,000 feet, which kept the Air National Guard (ANG) in Battle Creek, and they upgraded to the A-10 aircraft. The base had planned to move to Grand Rapids until Schwarz intervened.

In 1986 he ran for the Michigan Senate and served in Lansing for 16 years. He rose to President Pro-Tempore of the Senate and Chaired the Higher Education Committee reforming how Michigan funded its state universities. He was extremely proud of his efforts to robustly fund higher education because he strongly believed people could put themselves into a better economic situation through higher education.

In 2004, he successfully ran for the newly redrawn 7th Congressional District and was seated in the 109th Congress in January 2005. He humbly called himself, the “Oldest living Freshman!”

During his term in Washington, the Battle Creek ANG Base was again placed on the closure list. He aggressively sought to save it from closure and through his efforts Battle Creek became the only such facility in the nation to be removed from the list. The Base still thrives today, something Joe was immensely proud of.

Unfortunately, he was narrowly defeated in the 2007 Primary, and the Battle Creek community lost a staunch advocate in Washington.

Following his political career, he served on numerous boards and received many accolades. Notably, he was selected by then-Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, to serve on the Walter Reed Army Hospital Review Board, investigating conditions at the hospital. He was always a staunch advocate for Veterans and the Military and relentlessly worked to help Veterans and their families struggling to receive care.

Joe served as a Trustee at the University of Olivet, on the University Bank Board and Kellogg Community College Foundation Board. He also served on Michigan Legislative Retirement Board, the Purple Rose Theater Board and the Brass Band of Battle Creek Board. He was a past President of the Calhoun County Medical Society and on the board of the Michigan State Medical Society.

He relished his role as grandfather, always happy to watch football games, swim meets, dance competitions and school productions. He loved to go to the Big House with his grandchildren, and friends and family members from across the country to show them the campus he loved.

He was an avid railroad and train enthusiast and historian and took many rail trips across the U.S. and to Montana. His offices always had several historic train prints on display. He was frequently called on for counsel on railroad and transportation policy issues.

Throughout his civic and political career, Schwarz always put Battle Creek first and fought adamantly for the community he loved. As a physician he treated many friends and patients on his own time free of charge. He left his mark on a community that still feels the impact of his dedication and commitment.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents and wife, Anne (Ennis) Schwarz; Brother, Frank Schwarz, M.D.; and sister, Janet Miller.

Surviving are daughter Brennan L. Schwarz; grandchildren Joseph and Veronica of Okemos, MI; longtime companion, Geralyn Lasher of Okemos, MI, numerous nieces and nephews, and a large network of extended family and friends.

Visitation, Friday, June 5, 4:30-6:30 with Rosary following, at Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home, 105 Capital Ave., N.E., Battle Creek

Funeral Mass, Saturday, June 6, 10:00 a.m., St. Philip Catholic Church, 112 Capital Ave., N.E., Battle Creek. The mass will be live-streamed on St. Philip's Facebook page. On the advice of Bishop Lohse, cameras will not be allowed in the church.

Interment, Memorial Park Cemetery, Battle Creek

Family suggests memorials to the Dr. John J.H. “Joe” and Anne E. Schwarz Scholarship Fund at the Battle Creek Community Foundation.

Arrangements by Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Cremation Preneed Care, Battle Creek.

Personal messages for Joe's family may be placed here at www.farleyestesdowdle.com