Bernard Swaab

Bernard (Ben) Swaab, age 95, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 28, 2022, at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. He was born on June 9, 1927 in Amsterdam, Holland. His mother was Hungarian and Jewish; his father was from Indonesia (the Dutch West Indies). Ben grew up during WWII and faced some hard times. He was in the Dutch Navy from 1947 to 1953 – much of that time in Papua New Guinea. He came to the USA in 1956. He would often say that coming to America was the best thing that happened to him. In 1962, he married Frances Swaab and they relocated to Milpitas, CA from the East Coast. Ben retired as an Aircraft Mechanic from United Airlines in 1984.
Frances passed away in 2010 and he was very lucky to meet Iris Peterson at bowling soon after. They were fortunate to spend 12 wonderful years together. In 2018, Ben moved to Cogir of Fremont retirement community and was very happy there. He is being deeply missed by many friends and family members, especially by Rachel Gies, sister; Robert Swaab, brother; Kulvi Warya, goddaughter. Rest in peace Ben.