Retired longtime Valparaiso Clerk-Treasurer Sharon Swihart dies

Retired Valparaiso Clerk-Treasurer Sharon Swihart, 80, died unexpectedly at home on Christmas Day.

Swihart began her career in public service in 1965 at the Valparaiso Police Department, where she served as a radio dispatcher and secretary to Police Chief Lee “Ed” Miller and the detective bureau. She then served seven years as chief deputy clerk for Porter Superior Court.

In 1983, she was appointed clerk-treasurer, filling the remainder of Hallie Edge’s term, a position she held for 37 years before retiring in 2019.

Valparaiso Republicans announced Swihart’s death in a Saturday Facebook post.

“Sharon was amazing,” Mayor Jon Costas said Monday.

“She had some great stories. It was a lot different world back then.” Among them was the police officer who was cleaning his gun when it went off in the police station decades ago. Swihart remembered the bullet whizzing past.

From “the old, rickety city hall, which is where the police station was,” on Indiana Avenue to the current City Hall on Lincolnway, “she’s seen a lot of changes,” Costas said.

“She had such a dedication to her profession. She really was a force of nature in a lot of ways. She was very determined. She was very good at what she did,” he said.

“She kept our finances in tip-top shape. She’d often be giving the auditors lessons in how to keep the books. We’ve always had clean audits,” Costas said.

“One of our city values is to be creatively frugal, and we often joked that she was frugal and I was creative. It worked well. There were times when you didn’t want to cross Sharon. She was very opinionated, and she was usually right,” he said.

“She was very loyal and just a fair person. She worked well across the aisle. She had a great relationship with (former Democratic Mayor) Dave Butterfield. They were good friends and colleagues,” Costas said.

Costas succeeded Butterfield. “When I was running, she maintained a neutrality which was good for the city because that makes for a good transition,” Costas said.

“I think the citizens owe a great debt of gratitude for someone who managed the city’s finances so well. That’s one of the reasons we’re in such good shape now. A great bond rating, a solid budget. The culture that she created in the clerk’s office remains today, and it’s kept the city on course,” he said.

During his first tenure as mayor, Costas brought a number of changes to the city, including roundabouts and the downtown Central Park. “An organization needs continuity and change. It needs both,” he said. “Sharon was that steady hand, that continuity that is just so necessary to bring about that change that oftentimes can take years and years.”

“If you have a lot of change in elected officials, sometimes that can really hinder some larger reforms that are really necessary.”

Former Mayor Matt Murphy recalled Swihart as “an incredible person. I was very lucky to have known her both growing up and as an adult. I loved being around her and appreciated all she taught me about our city, life, family and friendship. She was tough as nails and had a heart of gold. I will miss her so much.”

Porter County Historian Kevin Pazour witnessed Swihart’s dedication to the past. “Sharon truly loved the history of Valparaiso and Porter County, and through her years of service, she helped preserve and share it. I am grateful for her decade as a trustee of the Porter County Museum and for the personal humor she brought to her storytelling,” he said.

Swihart was born Feb. 16, 1945, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Harriet Marie Headley and Robert W. Troxel. The family came to Valparaiso when she was 2. Swihart graduated from Valparaiso High School in 1963. At 48, she earned an associate degree in business and accounting, with distinction, from Purdue University North Central.

She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Lt. Colonel Thomas Swihart, USMC (Ret.); her daughter Christa M. Emerson (Brian Foutch); son Robert W. (Beth) Emerson; grandsons Troy (Katie) Borlick and Kade Borlick; granddaughters Iris and Hazel Emerson; niece Carol Croft (Dan Kinngbeck); stepdaughters Amanda (Rob) Thibault and A’Lisa Swihart; and step-granddaughter Makayla Rodriguez. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Roberta Croft and former husband James L. Emerson.

Swihart was given the Distinguished Hoosier Award by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2004 and the Sagamore of the Wabash honor by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2019.

A private family memorial service will be held later. The family encourages donations in Swihart’s name to Fried’s Independent Cat Shelter, CPR Fund K9 Rescue, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, the American Battlefield Trust or any other charity.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.