Martin Swonke

Bro. Martin (Matthew Thomas) Swonke, FSC, was born in Houston, Texas, to Peter Swonke and Frances Keifel Swonke on September 22, 1926.  He died January 8, 2022, from complications with COVID-19 variants.  His family owned a truck farm of which Martin was very proud.  He went to the De La Salle Juniorate in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1941 and received the habit of the Christian Brothers in 1944.  He received his Bachelor Degree in 1951 from St. Michael’s College in Santa Fe, NM.  He taught in many of the Brothers’ schools in Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico until his retirement in the Brothers’ community in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2008.  He was very proud of his home state of Texas and loved flower and vegetable gardening.  He also liked fishing and playing card games with the Brothers.  He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Eugene Swonke.  He is survived by his sisters Suzanne Hoffart and Mary Horzog.  The funeral service will be private in the Brothers’ chapel at St. Michael’s.  He will be buried in the Brothers’ cemetery in Lafayette, Louisiana.  The Brothers would like to thank the health care and cooking staff who took such good care of Br. Martin these past three years.  There will be a private community mass on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.