Aloys "Al" John Schwinghamer

Al Schwinghamer died on Wednesday 14 October 2026, aged 88. His family announced his death in an obituary issued through Moose Jaw Funeral Home on 16 October, and the cause of death was not made public.

On 19 October the City of Moose Jaw issued a statement from Mayor James Murdock offering condolences to his family and friends on behalf of council and residents, and announced that the flags at city hall would be lowered to half-mast in his honour. His death was reported by MooseJawToday, SaskToday, CTV News Regina, 650 CKOM and 980 CJME.

The funeral service was arranged for 11 a.m. on Tuesday 20 October 2026 at Moose Jaw Funeral Home, with Father Andrew Lindenbach officiating and interment at Rosedale Cemetery. The service was also webcast. In lieu of flowers, the family asked for donations to the Providence Place Foundation in Moose Jaw or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Aloys John Schwinghamer was born on 10 April 1938, the son of Aloys Schwinghamer and Mary Schwinghamer (nee Weber). He grew up in Bruno, Saskatchewan, a farming community east of Saskatoon, in a family that included his brothers and sisters Annette, Jim, Margaret, Kathleen and Helen.

He attended the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and graduated from its College of Engineering as a civil engineer.

After graduating, Schwinghamer worked as a civil engineer in Melville, Saskatchewan, and in St. Boniface, Manitoba, before moving to Moose Jaw. In 1974 he was appointed Moose Jaw's city engineer, and for about 20 years he led the city's public works and engineering department. In that role he was the city's spokesman on projects such as the rebuilding of a bridge that was the subject of a dispute with CP Rail in the 1980s. His family's obituary notes that his engineering career later took him to Regina.

His professional peers recognised his work. The Western Canada Water and Wastewater Association presented him with its H. C. Lindsten Award in 1987, and in 1988 the American Public Works Association named A. J. Schwinghamer of Moose Jaw among its Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year.

In 1994 he moved from the city's staff into elected office, winning a seat on Moose Jaw City Council. When Mayor Ray Boughen retired in 2000, Schwinghamer was elected mayor, and he went on to serve two terms, from 2000 to 2006. Looking back on his time in office, he spoke of six years of continued development in the city and of maintaining good relationships with the provincial and federal governments and with business.

In March 2006 he disclosed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and that autumn he announced that he would not run again for mayor. Instead he stood for council, where he finished second in the poll with 4,642 votes and served on the council led by Mayor Dale McBain until 2009. In all he spent 15 years in elected office and about 35 years in the city's service.

Schwinghamer met Joan McRae, and they were married on 1 February 1963. They had three children, Holly, Michael and Patricia, and in time grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Al and Joan made Moose Jaw their home and enjoyed many years in the community; his obituary describes him as a very community-minded man.

He was predeceased by his parents, a brother and two sisters. He was survived by Joan, his wife of 63 years, their three children and their families, and his sisters Kathleen Chouinard and Helen.

Few people have shaped modern Moose Jaw as directly as Al Schwinghamer. For two decades he was responsible for the infrastructure the city depends on, and for another 15 years he helped decide its direction from the council table and the mayor's chair. Mayor James Murdock said his knowledge of the community, his dedication to public service and his contributions to the growth and development of Moose Jaw had left a lasting impact, and that the city would remember him with great respect.