He “Endured to the End”

IN A 1993 video presentation that is shown to new members of the headquarters staff of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Lyman Alexander Swingle expressed his feelings about serving Jehovah: “Die with your boots on!” *

Ninety-year-old Brother Swingle did just what he had encouraged others to do. He “endured to the end.” (Matthew 24:13) Although suffering physically, on Wednesday, March 7, he attended a meeting of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses of which he was a member. The following Tuesday his condition worsened, and at 4:26 a.m., March 14, he was pronounced dead by his doctor.

Lyman Swingle began his service at Jehovah’s Witnesses’ world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, on April 5, 1930. He served there for nearly 71 years. Lyman was first assigned to the bindery, then to the pressroom, and he also helped make ink. In fact, Brother Swingle spent about 25 years in the ink room. He also served for some 20 years as a member of the headquarters’ writing staff. For the final 17 years of his life, he worked in the Treasurer’s Office.

Lyman was a bold proclaimer of God’s Kingdom. In his early years in Brooklyn, he and his roommate, Arthur Worsley, used to sail one of the Witnesses’ boats up the Hudson River. Using amplifying equipment, they passed many weekends broadcasting the Kingdom message to onshore communities.

Brother Swingle was born on November 6, 1910, in Lincoln, Nebraska, but soon afterward the family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. There, in 1913, his parents became Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then called. Over the years, the Swingle household entertained many visiting speakers from the Witnesses’ Brooklyn headquarters, and these men had a positive influence on Lyman. In 1923, at 12 years of age, he was baptized in symbol of his dedication to God.

After serving for more than 26 years in Brooklyn as a single man, Lyman’s life was immeasurably enriched when he married Crystal Zircher on June 8, 1956. They were inseparable, sharing in the ministry together until Crystal’s death in 1998. About three years earlier, Crystal had suffered a stroke that had left her badly disabled. Lyman’s daily involvement in her care was an example of devotion that was inspiring to all, especially to those who saw Lyman lovingly pushing the wheelchair on the sidewalks of the neighborhood as Crystal presented The Watchtower and Awake! to passersby.

Brother Swingle was a frank, warmhearted man who endeared himself to those who came to know him. Like his father and mother, he entertained the Bible-based hope of living with Jesus Christ in the heavenly Kingdom, a hope that we are confident he has now realized.​—1 Thessalonians 4:15-18; Revelation 14:13.

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Brother Swingle served some 25 years in the ink room

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Lyman and Crystal were inseparable