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Obituary

Tampa developer was a World War II hero

By MARTY CLEAR
Published January 26, 2007

TAMPA SHORES - David Schwartz married his childhood sweetheart.

He was 82 when he passed away last week. He and Martha, his very first girlfriend, had been married less than five years.

They had met and started dating in high school, way back in the 1930s or early 1940s. When Mr. Schwartz went off to fight in World War II, he named his jeep after his sweetheart, and painted her name on the inside.

They reunited after the war, but then Mr. Schwartz rejoined the military and went to China for a year. When he came home, Martha was gone.

Mr. Schwartz married his first wife, Doreen, had two sons, moved to Tampa and built a career as a prominent local Realtor, home builder and developer.

Doreen passed away in 2001. Later that year, he went back to Tennessee for his 60th high school reunion.

"He asked a friend of his, 'Whatever happened to Martha?'," his son Alan said. "His friend said, 'Here's her phone number. You should call, her, Dave; she's divorced'."

They finally married in 2002, more than 60 years after they first met.

They moved back to Tampa and stayed here until October 2006. Mr. Schwartz, already ill with prostate cancer and unable to afford the skyrocketing homeowner's insurance rates in Florida, moved out of the house he had built, in a neighborhood he had developed, and took his bride back to Tennessee so she could be with her family after his death.

Mr. Schwartz came to Tampa in 1954, not long after a military career in Europe and Northern Africa. All but 18 members of his infantry battalion were killed in the invasion of Anzio. Later, he was among the first group of Allied soldiers to reach the Dachau concentration camp and free some of its prisoners.

"He took our family to Dachau and he showed us where he had cut the wire," his son said. "You could see where the Germans had spliced the wire together after he cut it."

He spent the last year of the war in the Office of Strategic Services. He came home after the war, having attained the rank of lieutenant and earned three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and many other decorations. But he was reactivated a year later and sent to China.

He came here to go join his father-in-law's company. With his father-in-law, he helped develop the neighborhood north of Kennedy Boulevard and west of Dale Mabry Highway. He and his family lived in that neighborhood, on Fig Street, for several years.

Later, Schwartz became a Realtor and started several residential real estate companies, including Datatron and Schwartz and Associates. He also began building and developing on his own. His largest development was Tampa Shores, where he lived from the 1960s until last year.

"At the time, Tampa Shores was supposed to be so big it would dwarf Town 'N Country," his son said. "It was the first development in Tampa where central air conditioning was standard."

Mr. Schwartz's companies also built large numbers of homes in the Dover and Wimauma areas.

Highly respected in his industry, he was elected vice president of the Tampa Board of Realtors. He continued working until last year, well past his 81st birthday.

"He was one of the most scrupulously honest people I have ever met," his son said. "Sometimes I think that was to his detriment in business. But that was the way he was. A handshake was as good as a written contract to him."

Besides his second wife and his son Alan, Mr. Schwartz is survived by his son Ben, a grandson, a great-granddaughter, a stepson, a stepdaughter and step-granddaughter.

[Last modified January 25, 2007, 12:17:27]