Trappist Brother Bonaventure is laid to rest in Huntsville

Intermountain Catholic

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Trappist Brother Bonaventure is laid to rest at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity in Huntsville Dec. 20. IC photo/Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — Trappist Brother Bonaventure was known as always being happy, a great cook, fun, funny and energetic. Brother Bonaventure, 82, passed away Dec. 17, 2013 at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

Trappist Father Leander Dosch concelebrated a funeral Mass with other Trappist priests at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity in Huntsville Dec. 20.

"Our diocese joins with the monks at Holy Trinity Monastery in praying for the happy repose of the soul of Brother Bonaventure, who passed away this week after a short illness," said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City. "He was a splendid man of prayer whose work greatly assisted the monastery. He had a knack for fixing anything, from complicated farm machinery to simple motors. But his real knack was for lifting all of us up in prayer as he followed Christ’s call to come apart and pray, a calling he lived for 40 years at the Abbey in Huntsville. Please keep Brother Bonaventure in your prayers even as you ask God’s blessing on our beloved monks."

Brother Bonaventure was born Norbert Marr Schweiger on Feb. 15, 1931 in Osage, Iowa to Bartholomew and Dorothy Schweiger. He was a farmer, an engineer, a trained culinary chef, and a Korean War veteran. Prior to entering the Huntsville monastery, he was at Conception Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery in northwest Missouri, where he was the head chef.

In 1973 he entered Holy Trinity Monastery, where he was especially appreciated for his mechanical skills. He managed the heating facilities and maintained and repaired the vehicles and farm machinery; he was the farm manager for many years. On occasion, he was called upon for his education in food service to provide meals for the community.

In the last few months of Brother Bonaventure’s life, his health began to fail and he spent his remaining time in his primary work of prayer.

"Brother Bonaventure exercised the two main virtues that everybody needs to have success in their life, throughout their life and at the end, and that’s patience and perseverance," said Abbot David Altman. "He certainly practiced those virtues; and he was fun to live with."

"I loved coming to Mass here to hear him read; his voice was so deep," said Margaret Leuschner, a Holy Family parishioner. "He was always cheerful and was so faithful."

"He always prayed for us," said Major General Michael J. Schweiger, Brother Bonaventure’s nephew. "We saw him several times when we were kids; he was just superb," said Schweiger, recalling his uncle visiting their farm in Iowa and making pancakes for breakfast. "He could flip those pancakes at least three feet in the air and catch them in the pan. But he was really a farmer at heart and that may have been what drew him to Huntsville. He liked having a smaller family, the great weather in Utah and there was a lot more hands-on farming he could do."

Others in the community also have fond memories of Brother Bonaventure.

Craig Shupe, a Saint Florence parishioner, was young when he first attended Mass at the monastery, he said. "I started working with Brother Bonaventure when I was 15," he said. "He liked to drive really fast and go to the Venturewood Farm Days in Tremonton every year."

"If you came up to say ‘Hi,’ you’d better show up in your work clothes because he’d make you clean the shop or change the oil on the equipment before you could leave," added Lee Shupe.

Both Lee and Craig learned work ethics from Brother Bonaventure, they said.

"We learned how to farm," said Lee Shupe.

"How to do it right the first time," added Craig Shupe. "If not, you had to redo it."

Jim Wiggins helped Brother Bonaventure keep the farm equipment running, he said, adding that he enjoyed every minute of it. "He was a wonderful man and will be sorely missed."