Frank Schwitter, an executive with the Arthur Andersen accounting firm and an Air Force veteran, died on Aug. 5 at the Bluff Road, Amagansett, house he owned for 50 years. He was 91 and also lived in New York City.
Mr. Schwitter had a long and successful career, working for 38 years with Arthur Andersen, where he was a partner and the managing director of the firm’s international business program from 1982 to 1996. He was known as a quiet rock, full of positivity, and a mentor to many, his family said.
He served as an officer and director of business organizations including the Foreign Policy Association, the Business Council for International Understanding, the Council of the Americas, the Long Island Association, and the Huntington Chamber of Commerce.
Frank Joseph Schwitter was born in Queens on Sept. 27, 1933, to Joseph Schwitter and the former Agnes Germaine. He grew up in the borough’s Springfield Gardens neighborhood.
He joined the Air Force in 1953 and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where he played baseball with the Naha Eagles. While on leave, he wore his uniform to a baby shower in Queens, and there he met his future wife, Janet Jones. After he returned to the United States, they were married during a hurricane on Aug. 13, 1955.
Mr. Schwitter was always eager to learn, his family said, and he used the G.I. Bill of Rights to enroll at New York University, where he earned an undergraduate degree and, in 1960, an M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business.
After retiring from Arthur Andersen in 1996, he served in Indonesia as a senior business adviser and technical consultant to Prasetio, Utomo & Co., and later advised law and accounting firms in the United States. In 2013, he became a partner at 1624 Capital, guiding investment decisions. He also served as an independent director and chairman of the audit committee of the HEICO Corporation, a technology-driven aerospace, industrial, defense, and electronics company. He joined HEICO’s board of directors in 2006.
While consulting at a law firm in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, he was very fortunate to escape the building unharmed. As one of many New Yorkers who were able to find safety that day, he was forever grateful to the city’s first responders for their bravery and sacrifice.
Despite his many accomplishments, Mr. Schwitter would say that his greatest achievement was creating a beautiful family with his wife of 69 years. He gardened, went to the beach, played tennis and bridge, and formed many friendships as a member of the Amagansett Village Improvement Society and the Amagansett Beach Association.
He enjoyed travel, originally sparked by a stint his family spent living in Geneva in the early 1980s, and simple pleasures like his hidden licorice, crossword puzzles, and the New York Mets.
His wife died in January. Mr. Schwitter’s older sister, Agnes Friedly, and her husband, Ernest, also died before him. He is survived by three children, Jane Keihn of Reston, Va., and her husband, Jim; Glenn Schwitter of Avon, Conn., and his wife, Ann Fisher, and Craig Schwitter of Montclair, N.J., and his wife, Erin. Seven grandchildren also survive: William Ruppe, Frances Ruppe, Paul Schwitter, Lily Erikson, Whitney Schwitter, Voss Schwitter, and Vivian Schwitter. He leaves three nieces: Monica Brannen, Linda Friedly, and Susan Friedly.
Mr. Schwitter was cremated. A service to honor his memory will be held on Sept. 27 at the Amagansett Beach Association.
His family has suggested memorial contributions to Amber Waves’ nonprofit teaching farm at amberwavesfarm.org.
