John Joseph Henry "Joe" Schwarz, M.D., a lecturer at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and a lifelong public servant whose career spanned medicine, military service, local government, the Michigan Senate, and the U.S. Congress, died May 27, 2026. He was 88.
"Joe led an extraordinary career as a physician, congressman, and professor," said Ford School Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes. "He was a brilliant public servant with an unwavering commitment to educating the next generation of policy leaders. He will be deeply missed by so many in the Ford School community and beyond."
Schwarz brought a breadth of experience and a deep belief in public service to the classroom. He taught courses on Congress and state legislatures, drawing on his years as mayor of Battle Creek, president pro tempore of the Michigan Senate, and member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Students knew him as a candid, practical, and deeply knowledgeable teacher who understood government not as an abstraction, but as the daily work of serving communities.
In a 2016 Ford School Q&A marking his 10th year of teaching, Schwarz reflected on his students and the school with characteristic affection.
"I've loved it. I love the students," he said. "The students in the Ford School want to learn about government, in all its phases, warts and all. They're committed to learning about government and they are committed to, in one way or the other, doing public service."
That same commitment defined Schwarz's own life. Born in Battle Creek in 1937, he earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1959 and his medical degree from Wayne State University in 1964. He served in Southeast Asia with the U.S. Navy, including as a battalion surgeon with Marines in Vietnam, and later as assistant naval attaché in Indonesia. He also served with the Central Intelligence Agency in Laos and Vietnam.
After completing his medical training in otolaryngology, Schwarz returned to Battle Creek, where he practiced as an ENT/head and neck surgeon for more than 40 years. He remained committed to providing care in his community, including at Grace Health, a federally qualified health center. In the 2016 interview, he said he intended to practice medicine "'til the day I die," adding, "I'll continue to perform a service in my community."
Schwarz began his career in elected office in local government, serving on the Battle Creek City Commission and as mayor. He later represented his community for 16 years in the Michigan Senate, where he chaired the Higher Education Committee and became president pro tempore. In 2004, he was elected to represent Michigan's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Throughout his career, Schwarz was known for his independence, pragmatism, and willingness to place community and country above party. He often spoke about the importance of local government and the responsibility of elected officials to focus on the fundamentals of public life: roads, water systems, bridges, public safety, education, and health care.
Schwarz's service to U-M extended beyond the classroom. He chaired the board of directors of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan from 2005 to 2007 and remained deeply connected to the university throughout his life. He was a familiar presence in Ann Arbor, he rarely missed Michigan football games and often brought family and friends to the Big House to share the campus he loved.
He also continued to serve on numerous boards and commissions after leaving Congress, including the Walter Reed Army Medical Center review panel appointed by the Secretary of Defense. He chaired the successful 2008 Michigan ballot initiative allowing human embryonic stem cell research and served on the board of Voters Not Politicians, the statewide organization whose ballot initiative created Michigan's independent redistricting commission.
As a teacher, Schwarz encouraged students to take government seriously and to see public service as both a responsibility and a calling. His legacy at the Ford School lives on in the students he taught and the example he set.
Schwarz was preceded in death by his wife, Anne Ennis Schwarz. He is survived by his daughter, Brennan L. Schwarz; grandchildren Joseph and Veronica; longtime companion, Geralyn Lasher; and a wide circle of extended family, friends, colleagues, former patients, and students.
Funeral and memorial information is available through Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home. The family suggests memorial contributions to the Dr. John J.H. "Joe" and Anne E. Schwarz Scholarship Fund at the Battle Creek Community Foundation.