Melvin Morse Swig (July 31, 1917 – May 14, 1993)Full text of "Melvin M. Swig, President, Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, 1971-1972 : oral history transcript; with introductions by Donald H. Seiler and Robert E. Sinton ; interviews conducted by Eleanor K. Glaser in 1991
Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1991 was an American

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

developer and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He was also owner of the National Hockey League's

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The S ...

and

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

Early life and education

Swig was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, a son of

Benjamin Swig Benjamin Harrison Swig (born November 17, 1893 - October 31, 1980) was a real estate developer and a philanthropist active in Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Biography Taunton, Massachusetts-born Benjamin Swig was the son of banker and poli ...

and grandson of politician and banker Simon Swig. He graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1939.

Career

Swig was a real estate developer and philanthropist in San Francisco and New York. He was heir to the Fairmont Hotel chain, and former chairman of the Swig, Weiler & Dinner Development Company, of San Francisco and Manhattan, a family-owned real estate company with holdings including the Fairmont Hotels. Swig served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and later moved to San Francisco in 1946. In San Francisco, Swig was President of the Jewish Community Federation and the Jewish Community Endowment Fund. He established the Swig Judaic Studies Program at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

where he also served as chairman of the board.

Personal life

Swig was married four times. In 1939, he married Phyllis Diamond with whom he had two children; Steven and Judy. They divorced in 1951. Swig then married Marcia Hove and had twin sons: Robert and Kent. They divorced in 1965. His third wife was Dolores Cochrane who had two daughters from a previous marriage. They were married for seventeen years until her death from lung cancer. His fourth wife was

Charlotte Mailliard Charlotte Mailliard Shultz ( Smith; September 26, 1933 – December 3, 2021) was a socialite, and philanthropist. She was the Chief of Protocol for the state of California, and the Chief of Protocol for the City and County of San Francisco. S ...

(née Smith). After his death, she married George Pratt Shultz, who served as the U.S. Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989. His children were all raised in the Jewish faith. His son Steven Swig, formally served as chairman of the board of the Swig Company in San Francisco, and is married to Mary Green, founder of Mary Green lingerie. His daughter Judy died of cancer in 1975 at the age of 26. His son Kent Swig, a real estate developer in New York, was married to and divorced from Elizabeth Macklowe, daughter of real estate developer

Harry B. Macklowe Harry B. Macklowe (born 1937) is an American real estate developer and investor based in New York City. Early life Macklowe was born to a Jewish family, the son of a garment executive from Westchester County, New York. He graduated from New Roc ...

. His son Robert Swig, a philanthropist in San Francisco, died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 39; Robert had three children with his wife Kim Baldwin Swig.JWeekly: "S.F. philanthropist Robert Swig of real estate family dies at 39" by ALEXANDRA J. WALL
August 25, 2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swig, Melvin 1917 births 1993 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American real estate businesspeople Brown University alumni Businesspeople from Boston California Golden Seals Cleveland Barons (NHL) Jewish American philanthropists University of San Francisco 20th-century American businesspeople Jewish American sportspeople 20th-century American philanthropists Swig family 20th-century American Jews