Naomi Beard Schwinck died on July 16, 2010 following complications from a fall at her 90th birthday party. Although her hip was broken, she had a wonderful time with her family opening gifts and eating chocolate cake. She was born on July 7, 1920, in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Helen Will Beard and Sydney Beard. She divided her childhood years between her home in Detroit and the family summer home at Horse Island on Lake Erie, where she developed her love of swimming. After graduating from Wayne State University in 1942, she began teaching third grade in the inner city of Detroit. In 1945 she was married to the love of her life, Lieutenant David T. Schwinck, who predeceased her in 2007. As an army wife, she lived in Kansas, Colorado and Kentucky, but returned to Michigan where teaching salaries were the most acceptable. Stricken by polio at age 29, Naomi left her third grade classroom behind to rest and was blessed by a complete recovery. Dave Jr. was born soon after, followed by Debbie and a welcome move to the Detroit suburbs. With the baby boom exploding she resumed teaching in Farmington Hills, Mich., where she taught first grade for the next 24 years. In her career as an educator, she taught nearly 1000 children to read. Naomi and David worked together to found Shepherd King Lutheran Church in West Bloomfield, Michigan in 1956, where Naomi provided the church with exquisite needlework: beautiful hand-embroidered alter linens, pastoral robes and hundreds of baptismal napkins. The retirement years for Naomi and David were filled with joyful volunteer work and happy travels. As members of Detroit's Nomad Travel Club, they visited China, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Alaska, Kenya, the Galapagos, Figi, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and the Arctic Circle. In 1991, the Schwincks moved to Springfield to be closer to their grandchildren. They were welcomed into the Trinity Lutheran Church community by the very special members of the aptly named Friendship Club. Naomi spent 10 years delivering flowers at Cox South Hospital and created hundreds of baby quilts. She surrounded her homes with beautiful flower gardens, a skill learned from her grandfather on Horse Island. Naomi was a dedicated lap swimmer at the Springfield Family Y. In 1985, she won numerous medals in the Senior Olympics alongside her slightly faster older sister, Phyllis. She continued her twice-weekly swimming workouts until March, when she completed her final 11 laps at the Meyer Center, three months before her 90th birthday. Naomi was preceded in death by her parents; beloved husband, David; sister, Phyllis J. Beard; and stepbrother James Edington. She is survived by her son, David Schwinck Jr., wife Patty and their son, Brock McBride; and her daughter Debbie Kring, husband Keith and their children, Katie and Kevin Kring. Her stepsister, Beatrice Perrell of Plymouth, Michigan and half-brother Harold Edington of Cincinnati, Ohio also survive her. Special thanks to the staff at Ravenwood Assisted Living, where she enjoyed wonderful care since January. Visitation will be in Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home on Sunday, 7 to 8 p.m. The funeral service will be held on Monday, at 10:30 a.m., in Trinity Lutheran Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Trinity Lutheran Church or the Pat Jones Family Y Swimming Pool Fund.