Michael A. Camp, 44, Former village resident
Michael A. Camp, 44, of Biloxi, Miss., died on Dec. 19, 2006. Camp was a resident of Forest Park for more than 30 years.
He is survived by three brothers, Jay, Dan and Rob; two nephews, Justin and Ryan; and a niece, Jessica Camp.
He was predeceased by his mother, Junette (Guttke) Camp.
Visitation hours will be held Dec. 27 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home at 7319 W. Madison St. Funeral services will be held at the same location on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 12 p.m. Interment will be in Concordia Cemetery.
Thomas Coates, 82, Oak Park resident
Thomas Coates, 82, of Oak Park, died on Dec. 19, 2006. Coates is a former resident of Cambridge, Mass., where he worked as an attorney and served as vice mayor and city councilor.
Coates is survived by his wife, Ceoria (Wickware) Coates; a son, Thomas D. Coates; and several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his brother, Marian L. Williams.
Memorial services were held Dec. 23 at Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home at 7319 W. Madison St. Interment services will be private.
Berthold H. Schwaiger, 58, Founder of woodworking academy
Berthold H. Schwaiger, 58, died from complications related to diabetes on Dec. 17, 2006. Schwaiger was the founder and director of the Chicago Bauhaus Studios and Chicago Bauhaus Academy, formerly the Bauhaus Apprenticeship Institute of Oak Park and Forest Park, where he ran a woodworking school and an apprenticeship program that attracted students from around the world.
A native of Kassel, Germany, Schwaiger served as an apprentice and journeyman for eight years through the European guild system. In 1976, he graduated from the Fachschule des Moebelhandels (college of the furniture industry) in Cologne, where he studied interior and furniture product design, architecture, engineering and business management.
After coming to Chicago, Berthold Schwaiger’s unique philosophy and vision led to founding what is now known as the Chicago Bauhaus Studios and Chicago Bauhaus Academy.
This non-profit organization, for which Schwaiger served as president and teaching master, is dedicated to rigorous, practical and professional education in American art furniture. The program is deeply rooted in a philosophy focusing on the use of American hardwoods, avoiding the use of rainforest materials, and subscribing to the notion that furniture should last “as long as it takes a tree to grow.”
His work was twice selected from a field of 1,200 entrants to receive the national Design Journal ADEX award. Last May, the work of the Chicago Bauhaus was honored through a major retrospective exhibition at the Center for the Arts in Midland, Mich. Schwaiger was a member of the Furniture Society and the Chicago Artists’ Coalition.
Berthold Schwaiger is survived by a daughter, Tanya; a son, Aneus; as well as one grandson, David, who all reside in Germany. Memorial donations may be made to the Chicago Bauhaus Studio at 6525 N. Clark, Chicago, Ill.
