Monday, January 28th, 2008
Jon Schoolcraft III
Former Wapakoneta resident Army Sgt. Jon Michael "Mike" Schoolcraft III, 26, died Jan. 19, 2008, in Taji, Iraq, from injuries sustained in a roadside bomb attack.
He was born Dec. 27, 1981, in St. Marys, to Jon Michael Jr. and Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Swiger. His mother and stepfather, Randy Hooker, survive in Lima; his father and stepmother, Dawn Schoolcraft, survive in Madison, Ind. On Nov. 17, 2007, he married Amber Leigh Van Weort, who survives in Mililani, Hawaii.
Other survivors are a sister, Megan Ann, Lima; a half brother, Joshua Schoolcraft, Cridersville; a half sister, Kylee Schoolcraft, Cridersville; grandparents Jon Michael Sr. and Marsha Schoolcraft Sr., Madison, Ind., Fran and Gary Phillips, Dupont, Ind., Jeanette Swiger, Wapakoneta, and Robert and Susan Swiger, Urbana; great-grandmothers, Clara Schoolcraft and Virginia Welch, both of Madison, and Olive Leffel, Wapakoneta; stepgrandparents, Dan and Susan Hooker, Lima; and mother and father-in-law, Jeff and Penny Van Weort, Plattsburg, N.Y.
He was based in Germany and Hawaii with the U.S. Army and serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was a 2001 graduate of Wapakoneta High School and attended Apollo Joint Vocational School in 2000 and 2001.
Services are 1 p.m. Saturday at Wapakoneta High School, the Rev. Greg Roberts officiating. Burial with full military honors is at Buckland Cemetery.
Calling is 2-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Bayliff & Son Funeral Home, Cridersville.
Condolences can be made at bayliff@bright.net.