William Thomas Schwab

William T. Schwab, 86, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, widower of Elizabeth Croft Schwab, entered into eternal rest Tuesday, February 6, 2018. His funeral service will be held, Saturday, February 10, 2018, in J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Mount Pleasant Chapel, 1494 Mathis Ferry Road, Mount Pleasant at 11:00 am. Interment, with military honors will follow in Christ Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends in Stuhr's Mount Pleasant Chapel on Friday, February 9th, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm with a Rosary being held at 5:00 pm.

Bill was born September 22, 1931 in Orange, New Jersey, son of the late Stanley Schwab and Elizabeth Winters Schwab. He was a retired Vice President and Plant Manager with Evans Rule Company. He was also a long time member of Stella Maris Roman Catholic Church. Bill had a pet grey squirrel as a boy. He would collect nuts on his way home from school and feed his pet, that would climb up on his shoulder. Bill was a football running back in high school. He claimed to have out run his blockers on most plays.

He was a member of the National Guard as a teenager before being drafted at the outbreak of the Korean War. He reluctantly spent the war in England instead of in Korea, where he wanted to be with the men fighting the war. He spent two years in England during the war. One of his duties was serving as a member of the US Army basketball team that traveled around England playing other US military teams as well as the British teams. During his time in the army, he was an avid weightlifter and could bench press 300lbs. Upon his discharge from active duty, he returned to the states where he tried several occupations as he attended night school. He eventually settled on a position with the RCA Corp. as a quality control expert in the television, transistor tube division. In the 1960's, he joined Evans Rule Co. as a quality control expert. The most popular tools they manufactured were measuring tapes. The majority of the tapes were made for Sears under the Craftsman tool brand. Evans Rule Co. moved to North Charleston in 1972 at which time he was its plant manager with approx. 300 employees. Bill stayed until the mid-1980's when he and his wife, Liz, opened two retail stores: Crofts and The Green Lion.

As an expert in antiques, he specialized in English and American antique silver, antique American firearms, watches, US coins and many other antiquities. He spent the remainder of his life buying, selling and trading collectables, which was his life's passion.

In the 1970s, he became an avid relic hunter using his metal detectors to search the local area for buried military items from the revolutionary, 1812, and Civil wars. As a lifelong sportsman, he spent most of his years hunting and fishing, even though he never learned to swim. He is a past member of the Middleton Hunt Club. Most of all Bill enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his grandkids. Among other skills, he taught many of them the "art" of tap dancing.

He is survived by his son; Gary Schwab (Lea) of Mount Pleasant, SC, stepdaughters; Cynthia Anderson (Steven), Chesapeake, VA , Ann Coleman Fosberry, and Elizabeth Coleman Socia (Barry), both of Mount Pleasant, SC; grandchildren, Katherine, William, Paxton, and Michael Schwab, step grandchildren; Elizabeth Paul (Doug), Katie Robbins (Buck), Ben Anderson (Megan), Lucas, Isabel, Maddy, and George Socia, Joseph, Maggie and Patrick Fosberry. He is also survived by four step great grandchildren and two nieces.

In addition to his parents and his wife, Bill was preceded in death by his sister Dorothy Cousins-Tator.

Memorials may be made to Stella Maris Roman Catholic Church at 1204 Middle Street, Sullivan's Island, SC 29482 or Charleston County Animal Society at 2455 Remount Road, North Charleston, SC 29406.