Who is Dean Swihart? All about Jackie Walorski’s husband as Indiana congresswoman dies aged 58

Indiana representative Jackie Walorski and two of her staff members were killed in a car crash on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. The news of her death was confirmed by House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy on Twitter.

He shared that the tragic news was first notified to Walorski’s husband Dean Swihart and asked people to keep her family in their thoughts and prayers:

Tim Cummings, Walorski’s chief of staff, issued another statement about the latter’s demise and said:

“She has returned home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers.”

The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office also mentioned that the congresswoman and her staff members, District Director Zachery Potts and Communications Director Emma Thomson, were traveling in a car in Indiana when another northbound vehicle arrived “left of center” and had a head-on collision with Walorski’s car.

Edith Schmucker, the driver of the other vehicle, was also left dead at the scene following the crash.

Following Jackie Walorski’s demise, US President Joe Biden also issued an official statement remembering her work for the public:

“We may have represented different parties and disagreed on many issues, but she was respected by members of both parties for her work. My team and I appreciated her partnership as we plan for a historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health this fall that will be marked by her deep care for the needs of rural America.”

Meanwhile, House speaker Nancy Pelosi called Walorski a “lifelong Hoosier” and said she lived a “life of service”:

“A lifelong Hoosier, Congresswoman Walorski lived a life of service: whether caring for impoverished children in Romania, representing her community in the Indiana Statehouse or serving nearly a decade in the House."

She also mentioned that Walorski was loved and respected by her colleagues from both the major parties in America:

“She passionately brought the voices of her north Indiana constituents to the Congress, and she was admired by colleagues on both sides of the aisle for her personal kindness.”

Pelosi further ordered the US Capitol flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Walorski’s life. The GOP Representative is survived by her husband Dean Swihart. She was 58 at the time of her passing.

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Everything to know about Jackie Walorski’s husband Dean Swihart

Dean Swihart is an educator and school teacher (Image via Jackie Walorski/Twitter)

Dean Swihart is an educator who served as the K-6 Music teacher at Hums Elementary and Twin Branch Elementary Schools. He is best known as the husband of the late Indiana representative Jackie Walorski.

Although not much is known about Swihart’s personal life, Walorski’s official website mentioned that both the politician and her husband once served as missionaries in Romania and spent four years running a foundation to “provide food and medical supplies to impoverished children there.”

Back in 2014, Walorski posted a throwback photo with Swihart reminiscing about their days as Christian missionaries. In 2015, Swihart performed the US National Anthem at the Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat game in Indianapolis on Easter Sunday to an audience having nearly 18000 people.

Swihart also earned appreciation as a teacher from his wife, who dedicated a post to him on the occasion of Teacher Appreciation Day in 2013. Reports suggest that Walorski and Swihart married in 1995 but never had any children of their own.

The duo were often spotted together at Jackie Walorski’s campaign events and continued to celebrate a 27-year long marriage until the former’s demise on Wednesday.