Dick A. Schwartz '60

Richard Alan Schwartz M.D., 84, of McLean Virginia passed away on Tuesday, December 20th 2022. Beloved husband of 45 years of Jean Schwartz, devoted father of Michael (Catherine) Schwartz and Christopher (Kristin) Syring and grandchildren Kaitlyn, Jesse and Sian.

A graduate of Cornell University and Cornell Medical College, he was a respected cardiologist for 55 years and was a member of multiple medical honor societies. While at Cornell, he began his long rowing career winning multiple collegiate national championships and after graduation he subsequently won numerous national and international competitions.

Dick Schwartz, like so many others in that era, was a true walk on crew athlete in the fall of 1956. Coach Carl Ullrich was the freshman coach. Dick would work his way into the varsity under the guidance of head coach “Stork” Sanford. 

During his time at Cornell, Dick helped the Big Red Crew sweep the IRA’s in 1958, and win the Eastern Sprints in ’60. These became not just some of the team’s highlights, but his fondest memories. Dick loved the sport not just because of the wins. Other motivating factors were the lifelong friendships that developed, the opportunities to give your all to something bigger than yourself, and of course rowing up a flat lake at dawn where the only sound other than serene silence was the oars meeting water. All of this made him forever loyal to the sport.

Dick’s career took him to NYC, where he became the Varsity LWT coach and Freshman Coach from 1960-1962 at Columbia University.  Coach Carl Ullrich was in charge so the two got to work together again to create a team and find boat speed.

Dick continued to train during this time and would row in the World Championships in Lucerne Switzerland, the IV Pan American Games in Sao Paulo Brazil, and win a gold in the VI Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv Israel.  Together with Don Spero ’61 and Bernie Horton, the trio would gain enough momentum to create and co-found the National Rowing Foundation which still functions today!

Meanwhile amidst his training and racing Dick was able to graduate from Cornell University Med School in ’65.  He became a Jr Resident at Philadelphia General Hospital, Sr Resident at Georgetown Medical Division, Fellow at Georgetown U Hospital and Washington Hospital Center. 

At this point, his medical career took off. He served in the military as a Surgeon from 1966-68, and was in private practice, research, and academia for over 40 years. He would hold titles such as Chief of Medicine, Director of Intensive Care Unit, Director of Coronary Care Unit, Vice Chief of Staff, Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology/Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Chief of Cardiology. 

His love of rowing was never far away though. He would serve as the Medical Consultant/Team Physician for several area high school crews, Georgetown Crew, and Potomac Boat Club for a number of years. On the National team level, he would serve as the US National Rowing Team Physician in (Vichy France) (Klegenfurt, Austria), and was the Rowing Physician for the Olympic Games in Munich Germany in 1972. 

During all of this time he managed to continue to keep rowing and compete in regattas such as the Masters Worlds Championship in Canada 1982 and the Masters Worlds Championship in Amsterdam in 1985.

In 1987, Dick and Jean approached Coach Fin Meislahn and were told there was no backing for the fall regatta. The two of them loved the idea of helping to keep such a long standing tradition alive so what had once been the Fall regatta, the Forbes Cup, the Treaman Cup, and the Mullestein Cup, now became known as the Schwartz Cup in the fall of 1988.  As Dick and Jean saw the response of the crews to the event and their backing of it, they knew they had to continue.  After 30 years of this tradition, they announced they would endow the fall regatta and the name will remain as the Schwartz Cup for eternity!

A private, graveside service will be held for family and a memorial service and celebration of life will be held at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cornell School of Veterinary Medicine and the Mary Ann Morris Animal Foundation in Bamburg, SC.