Eulogy For a Great Mom: Margaret Hildegarde Sweeting, (1926- 2024)

Margaret Hildegarde Sweeting, age 97, passed away peacefully in her home and entered the presence of the Lord on October 16, 2024, surrounded by children and grandchildren. She was born Margaret Hildegarde Schnell in Paterson, New Jersey on October 21, 1926. Her parents, Oswald and Martha Schnell, were German immigrants who came to America  three years earlier. Their names are inscribed on the Wall of Honor at Ellis Island in New York Harbor near the Statue of Liberty. Margaret’s parents owned and ran a bakery in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Her dad, whom she called “the greatest baker in the world” was up early each morning baking, while her mother ran and managed the store. Margaret and her sisters also helped work the family business. Margaret graduated from East Side High School in Paterson, New Jersey. During those high school years she also made a commitment to follow Christ, and chose as her life verse Proverbs 3.5,6. She  then went to college at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago majoring in music. At age 14, young Margaret met George, aged 16, at a toboggan social of her church youth group where the two got on the same toboggan. Little did they know they would be in for a long, long ride! They were married on June 14, 1947 at the Hawthorne Gospel Church. At that time they decided to build their marriage on the Bible. They resolved to glorify God with their lives, to work as partners in ministry, and to stick together. When we asked her the secret of their marriage, Margaret would often say that she and her husband were best friends. This past year they celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary and the 84th year of their relationship! Because George had a serious bout with cancer as a student, the doctor told them they would never be able to have children. Nevertheless, God blessed them with four sons whom they sometimes referred to as “our miracle children.” Margaret resolved to be a stay-at-home mom. She was a pillar of stability in the home, especially with George in highly public ministry roles. George would sometimes say, “you know in many ways I am a dreamer and mom is the one who is down to earth and kept things running.”

Margaret loved being a mom. She was the heart of the family. She opened the doors of her home to others. Together they made home a haven for their growing family, finding family retreats at the Jersey shore, lake cottages, South Florida, and on the Chain of Lakes in Northern Illinois. With George they established many meaningful family traditions, such as their legendary three large annual summer family picnics for Memorial Day, July Fourth and Labor Day. 

Reflecting on their lives, she would sometimes talk about the phases of…..not “his” ministry, but “our” ministry. Phase one, she said, were the years when dad conducted evangelistic meetings around the country and in Europe and she “held the fort” at home. Phase two were the years when George pastored three churches and she served the church by loving and ministering to those congregations. Phase three were the years at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where they were dedicated to teaching and training students for ministry. She particularly invested herself in working with student wives. Phase four marked the years at Chain of Lakes Community Bible Church leading the Pace Setters (Senior Adult) ministry and she would help organize events, make calls to connect with the many who were involved. She also served in the church’s nursery ministry up into her 80s! When she became more immobile, she continued a ministry of prayer, regularly calling widows, old and young women, neighbors, friends, as well as nieces and nephews all across the country to find how they were doing and to pray for them. Margaret was also an amazing intercessor, which means she methodically prayed for many, many people. As she reflected on their years of ministry, she said they were not without pressures, tears or problems, but they were wonderful years and God had been faithful through it all. Margaret had many hobbies. She liked gardening, cooking, hospitality, piano and baking. She became known as the great pie maker. She loved to compete and play games like ping pong, horseshoes, board games, etc.. But her greatest passion was to be a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. In this she was not just dedicated, but extraordinary—truly grand. She never forgot a birthday or anniversary. If Oscars were given for grand mothering her shelves would be full. She carried herself with a sweet, gentile, quiet spirit. She maintained a simplicity that stemmed from her German brethren background. Her life can be summed up in a few choice words: sweet, faithful, kind, strong, servant, available, hospitable, intercessor, and committed—committed to serving with my dad in the great spiritual opportunities and battles of their lives. In sum, if you want to know the kind of impact she had, realize that three of her sons had children, and each one named a grandchild or great grandchild after her. Once there was one Margaret. Now there are four!

Margaret Sweeting was preceded in death by her two sisters Anna Lise and Elizabeth, her granddaughter Aubrey Grace, (d. 2005), and her beloved husband who preceded her in death just three weeks earlier on September 10, 2024. 

She is survived by her four sons, George David (Anne), James Douglas (Gail), Donald William (Christina) and Robert Bruce (Denise); 11 grandchildren, and 17 great grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at the Chain of Lakes Community Bible Church on October 23, at 1.00 PM (43 W Grass Lake Rd, Lake Villa, IL 60046). A visitation will be at the Strang Funeral Home of Antioch 1055 Main Street, Antioch, Illinois 60002 on Tuesday, October 22, from 5.00-7.00 PM.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers to give a gift in her memory as an investment into the Great Commission and the next generation of Christian leaders for The George and Margaret Sweeting World Evangelism Endowed Scholarship at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, 820 N. LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, IL 60610. Gifts can also be made online at give.moodybible.org, designating the gift for The George and Margaret Sweeting Endowed Scholarship  

Obituary originally published here.