Els Schulte-Sweeney was born in Vught in the Netherlands, 5 April 1946. At 18, she first visited the United States, participating in a 12-month Au Pair program with the Glynn family in Weston, MA, a friendship that she maintained her entire life.
Returning to the Netherlands she studied social work and language in Amsterdam. Later, pursuing her love for travel and meeting new people, she joined KLM flight staff eventually achieving the position of International Purser. While with KLM she enjoyed extended duty station assignments, spending six months at a time, in Manila, Melbourne and Rio De Janeiro. At KLM Els received language certification in Spanish, English, French and German. Several times a year while working on flight to Karachi, Pakistan, Els would extend her layover to work with Catholic nuns at a home for abandoned and disabled children.
While on vacation in 1985, she met and soon thereafter married Dick Sweeney. They settled in Basking Ridge, NJ. Within a year of their wedding Els had her first bout with breast cancer – this ended her flying career with KLM. Els then taught Spanish and French at the Pingry School in Somerset, NJ.
In June of 1989, Els and Dick became parents with the birth of a daughter, Elsje. Motherhood was Els’ greatest joy. Els and Elsje transitioned over the years from mother-daughter to the best of friends.
In early 1993, Els supported Dick’s entrepreneurial opportunity as a co-founder of Keurig, Inc. in Waltham, MA. In 1995 the family moved from NJ to Winchester, MA. Once settled in Winchester, Els began tutoring languages and working as a substitute teacher in the Winchester School System. Indirectly, this lead to an assignment as the name announcer at The Harvard Business School
commencement. Els infused so much enthusiasm in o that assignment that she continued the task for 15 years, becoming a fixture and announcing the names of over 13,000 graduates.
As a mother, wife, teacher or volunteer, Els brought an amazing level of energy, caring, love and pure joy of life to every task she undertook. Els was a sailor, skier, and gardener who simply enjoyed life and brought joy to each life she touched.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday September 26th in St. Mary’s Church, 155 Washington St., Winchester, at 11:30 am. Family and friends are kindly invited to attend.
In lieu of flowers or other gifts of condolence, donations to the Sweeney-Schulte Endowed Scholarship Fund at NJIT are suggested. Checks should be made payable to The Foundation at NJIT and mailed to NJIT Office of University Advancement, University Heights, Newark, NJ 07102.