Michael Schwartz, longtime Chief of Staff for Sen. Tom Coburn, Dies at 63
Michael Schwartz, longtime chief of staff for Sen. Tom Coburn, died Sunday. He was 63. Schwartz had Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Schwartz was Coburn’s chief of staff since Coburn was elected to the Senate in 2004. He also served as chief of staff for much of Coburn’s six years in the U.S. House.
Schwartz’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday in Germantown, Maryland.
Coburn, R-Muskogee, made the following statement on Monday:
“I’m sad to announce the passing of Michael Schwartz, who served as my chief of staff and was a member of my staff for almost 15 years.
“In a place preoccupied by titles and position and power, Mike was an extraordinary servant and faithful leader. He showed everyone _by his life, deeds and words _ that things that are unseen are the things that matter. As he battled ALS _ Lou Gehrig’s disease _ he showed us what it means to run the race and finish it strongly. Well done, good and faithful servant.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mike’s wife, Rose Ann, and their children and grandchildren.”
Here is the text of a statement Coburn made on the Senate floor in November about Schwartz:
“I wish to take a moment to honor a member of my staff who is not retiring but as a result of his ailment can no longer come to work on the Hill. This gentleman’s name is Michael Schwartz. He has been my chief of staff for almost 15 years, beginning while I was in the House and here in the Senate as well.
“A lot of people on the Hill know Michael. What they know is that he is one of the kindest, gentlest people anyone has ever met. He has been a light focused on how we do things to honor other people.
“Michael has been the kind of person who has always focused on others, especially those in need. He is the kind of person who doesn’t pass up the homeless we all see around the Capitol but stops and tries to satisfy their need. He offers them money and food, but he also offers them friendship and his time. He offers them the love and dignity that comes from being reminded that we are all children of the Creator.
“Mike has also been an unapologetic defender of the family and of those who cannot defend themselves, whether that be the disability community, the unborn, the infirm, or the elderly. He has reminded me and my staff and all of us that a society is truly measured in how it treats and cares for those less fortunate.
“Mike is also a voracious reader and gifted leader. In a city where people stop learning when they gain power, Mike has shown that the closer one gets to power, the more one needs to humble oneself and learn new things. He has been mentoring staff and others for years on the Hill in both reading groups and Bible studies, where he has shared his wisdom, his faith, and his heart.
“As many in the Senate know, Mike has ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. For weeks, he has been battling–actually months–to continue to fulfill his responsibilities here when most of us would have said: It is too difficult, I can’t do it. He has overcome challenges that most of us can scarcely imagine. He has done so with grace, humility, and an unbelievable level of courage. Through all this, we have watched him inspire everybody on my team with both his spirit and his tenacity.
“In these difficult circumstances, Mike has been an extraordinary servant and faithful leader. He is still the guy who cares more about other people than himself. The kindness he has shown to everyone he has encountered, whether to a homeless person on the street or a leading Senator in the halls, he has reminded our team and me that we are all equal regardless of position in the eyes of God.
“Let me close with a passage from 2 Corinthians that reminds me so very much of Mike.
“It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people–
“That wonderful word “grace,” too often a shortage in Washington, that Mike so well displays _ may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore, we do not lose heart.
“Mike, don’t lose heart.
“Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
“In a place preoccupied by titles and position and power, Mike has shown everyone by his life and his deeds and his words that things that are unseen are the things that matter. He has shown us what it means to run the race and finish it strongly. Well done, good and faithful servant.
“My hope is that God will bless Mike and Roseanne, their children and grandchildren, as he closes this chapter of his life on the Hill. He will still be doing projects for us because his intellect, his insight, and his knowledge are what we cannot bear to do without. So it has been my privilege over the last 15 years to be modeled and mentored by my chief of staff.
“Mike, we love you. God bless you.”
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or follow this blog's RSS and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
These are beautiful words, and fitting for this man, accurately reflecting the man as I knew him many years ago. He worked tirelessly for what is right and just, without regard to power and position in a city that worships power and position.
I will always remember his kindness, keen intellect and boundless sense of fun and humor. Mike, thanks for your time on this Earth, we’re all better for it.
[...] had the privilege of being acquainted with Mike Schwartz, Senator Tom Coburn’s chief of staff for many years. May he rest in [...]
Dear Rose Ann,
I was so saddened to hear of Mike’s passing. I met both you and Mike through Margaret Mary Dowdall Filoromo and was introduced to you by his friend, Jerry Woods.
Although I’m now married and lost touch with you as a family, I fondly remember meeting Mike with my husband Bill Burgess when he would come to Delaware and help Dee Becker with insightful speeches to bolster us Pro-Lifers in the Pa/Del. area. I last heard him talk at one of those Delaware Pro-Life Coalition breakfasts and was happy to get a chance to talk to him.
We now have 5 children of our own and I have fond memories of a sweet couple I met back in the 70s in you and Mike.
Mike is now receiving his reward for all of His hard work, and God is blessing you for being the wonderful supportive spouse as you shared a common love for the right to life and fought to protect and save us from all the societal ills that can befall a person without love.
Please accept my heartfelt wishes of sympathy and an email “hug” to you and your family!
Mike, you and your family are in our family prayers.
God bless,
Annette Donovan Burgess & Bill Burgess & Family
My sincere condolences to Mrs. Schwartz, his children and family. He was a good and faithful friend to me and to God. I will keep praying for him.
Mike’s story and the legacy he leaves endures. I didn’t know him well, but know those who were inspired by him. I hope that more of us in “politics” leave behind memories of strength, principle and empathy as Mike did.
My condolences to Rose Ann Schwartz and her and Mike’s children and grandchildren. I met Mike Schwartz almost 35 years ago when he and I were leading charitable organizations with overlapping objectives based in Milwaukee and Chicago respectively for a couple of years and OCCASIONALLY over the next ten years when Mike worked closely with an adviser on various projects for whom I worked in unrelated capacities. Our paths crossed rarely and at wide intervals over the last 25 years, yet Mike remained conscious of where our paths had crossed and interested in the evolution of the projects and groups which caused our paths to cross and the careers of those with whom we had both worked long ago. Truly a class act! May Mike rest in peace and may his wife, children and grandchildren be consoled.