Obituaries
Max Schwartz
August 15, 1922 - December 7, 2016
Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills - Mount Sinai Chapel
5950 Forest Lawn Drive
Los Angeles, California 90068
Schwartz, Max
August 15, 1922 – December 7, 2016
Max Schwartz passed away peacefully at the West Los Angeles Veteran’s Administration Hospital on Wednesday, December 7, 2016. He was born in Boyle Heights on August 15, 1922 to Samuel and Becky Gaufstein Schwartz. He attended Polytechnical High School in Los Angeles where his lifelong passion for drafting, architecture and art began to blossom. After graduation, he was recruited by the US Army Corps of Engineers as a civilian surveyor and draftsman on the site of the Pan American Highway in Costa Rica. His fluency in Spanish enabled him to make many Costa Rican friends who remained lifelong correspondents. The attack on Pearl harbor in 1941 stimulated Max to enlist in the US Army where he was once again with the Corps – assigned to the 1306 Combat Engineers and deployed to Normandy Beach. A faithful correspondent with his mother back in Boyle Heights, Max’s daily letters became the source material for his several self-illustrated books on the Second World War, including Builders at War, and Road to Nowhere. Having risen from Private to Master Sargent, the end of European conflict saw Max and the 1306 redeployed to Japan where his experiences led to several more stories and illustrations. At war’s end the G.I. bill enabled Max to obtain his Degree in Civil and Engineering at USC during which time he began his professional career, first with Claude Faithful, renowned California architect, and upon graduation at Southwestern Engineering Company. Ultimately opening his own consulting engineering firm Max expanded his practice to include engineering forensics with his attorney son Neil. In his later years, Max turned to publishing and illustrations with numerous books and paintings on a wide range of subjects including construction, biblical history and weapons of war. Max Schwartz is survived by his daughters Nina Klein and June Schwartz, his son, Neil Schwartz, son-in-law David Toppen, granddaughter Erica Klein, grandsons William and Lance Toppen and grandson-in-law Richard Hansberger. Funeral Services will be at 2:00 PM on Sunday, December 11 at Mt. Sinai, 5950 Forest Lawn Dr.
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