Helmut J. Schweiger

Dr. Helmut J. Schweiger, Esq. of Bellevue died at home on Saturday, October 30, 2021. He was 86 years old. Dr. Schweiger was born in Neunkirchen, Saar, to Albert and Ludwina Schweiger and spent his childhood in the coal mining village of Schiffweiler. At 13 he left to attend school at Stegen in the Black Forest. When he was 17 years old, he emigrated to the United States to study. He earned a BA at Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, an MA from the University of Iowa, a PhD from the University of the Saarland, and a JD from the William Mitchell College of Law. He worked as a university professor and administrator at Loras College, the University of Minnesota, L’Université de Moncton (Canada), and City University, and an administrator for the university systems of the Maritime Provinces of Canada and the State of Minnesota. Throughout his life Helmut loved to garden and cooked to mastery. Feeding family and friends was an important way he showered love on them. Plants thrived under his care. He doted on his second home in Steinsvik, Norway, where his wife Eli was born. He loved Roman history and could recite the opening paragraphs of Caesar’s Bello Gallico in Latin. His taste in humor tended towards the slapstick. He is survived by his wife of 36 years Eli-Karin Bjørnøy Schweiger, his children Carla Watt (Robert) of Port Hope, ON, Paul Schweiger (Barbara) of Camp Hill, PA, Thomas Schweiger (Beth) of Seattle, WA, Maria Golding (Tim) of Ottawa, ON, and Sonja Bjørnøy Adams of Seattle, WA, ten grandchildren, and his sister Magdalena Scheidt (Helmut). He is preceded in death by his brother Albert. A funeral mass will be held 11:00am, Wednesday, November 10th at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bellevue. A committal service will follow at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Seattle. The family suggests remembrances to the Bellevue Botanical Garden or Catholic Community Services of Western Washington in lieu of flowers.