Elizabeth Schweinberg

Elizabeth McCormick Schweinberg of Butler, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on December 11, 2025, under hospice care at Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Cabot, PA. She was 85. Known to her family as Guga and to everyone else as Betty, she leaves behind a legacy of service, love, and music for her family and community.

Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, to James A. and Elizabeth L. McCormick on December 23, 1939, Betty grew up as the oldest of three children, spending time on the family-owned Kisella Dairy Farm. She then attended Mount Mercy College (now Carlow University) and received bachelor’s degrees in both Music Education and Organ Performance. She later received two master’s degrees in Music Education and in Social Work, respectively.

Betty began her tenure as a music teacher in Shenango Township in 1961. In January of her first year, she met fellow Lawrence County music teacher Raymond C. Schweinberg. Romance swiftly followed, and the two wed later that summer, on August 4, 1962. The young couple continued teaching in Lawrence County for a few years before moving to Butler in 1966 with their two young children.

Betty and Ray joined the faculty of the Butler Area School District, where they worked for the remainder of their careers. First as an elementary school music teacher, and then at the Intermediate high school, Betty introduced a generation of Butler children to music. After receiving her master’s degree in Social Work, she moved up to the district level where she worked as the Home and School Visitor, supporting students and their families until her retirement in 1998.

In Butler, Betty and Ray built a warm and robust community in which to raise their family. They were members of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, where Betty served as the longtime organist. From their church, they grew a tight-knit group of friends, sharing their lives and raising their children together. The Schweinbergs were the star guests at every party and get-together, as you could always count on Ray or Betty to sit down at the piano, and the pair of them would lead the crowd in a showtune singalong.

Betty and the family cherished spending their summertime at Seven Springs in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. She and Ray had intended to retire there ever since they purchased a condominium in 1971. Unfortunately, Ray fell ill with lung cancer in 1984. While the two of them spent more time there during his illness, Ray ultimately passed away on December 1, 1984, leaving Betty widowed just shy of her 45th birthday.

Following the death of her husband, Betty continued her work as an educator while seeing her children through college and into the start of their burgeoning careers—one as an attorney, and the other following in his parents’ footsteps as a music teacher and educator.

Upon her retirement, Betty dedicated her time to supporting her two young grandchildren. After moving in with her daughter and son-in-law, she was a constant presence as a substitute teacher, volunteer, and supporter both in and out of school. She also enjoyed spending her summers at Seven Springs with her grandchildren, just as she had with her own children. It was during this time that she fought and won a two-year battle with stage 4 colon cancer, remaining in remission for over fifteen years.

Betty spent her later years enjoying the peace and respite of the Laurel Highlands, retiring to Seven Springs as she had long planned, and doting on her grandchildren when they visited from college. In her final years, she lived under the excellent care of Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Cabot, PA. She enjoyed hearing stories from the Concordia staff who remembered Ray or her from their own childhoods in Butler, and receiving reports of their children’s musical performances. Videos of their middle school band concerts never failed to put a smile on her face, as her gift of music was passed on.

Betty is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Jeffrey Jackson; her son and his longtime companion, James Schweinberg and Sue Edwards; her two grandchildren, Connor and Caroline Jackson; her sister, Anna R. (Jeannie) White; and her brother, James F. McCormick.

She is preceded in death by her parents and husband.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania; online at: https://www.stjoseph-baden.org/

In keeping with her wishes, there will be no visitation.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Spirit Parish - St. Mary’s Church, New Castle, with Rev. Aaron Kriss, officiating.

Interment will follow in Graceland Cemetery, New Castle, PA.