Samuel Schweitzer, Calligrapher to Queen, Is Dead at 93

Samuel O. Schweitzer, an artist and calligrapher who fashioned scrolls for American presidents and the Queen of England, among others, has died at 93.

Named the city’s Citizen of the Year in 1989, Schweitzer gained fame locally as the “Laguna Scribe” for the ornate scrolls and certificates he produced for dignitaries, entertainers, local organizations and friends.

For years, Schweitzer also entertained children as the city’s Santa Claus during the holidays.

City Clerk Verna Rollinger, a neighbor of Schweitzer and his wife, Eve, said Schweitzer remained active up until his death on Feb. 15.

“He was very busy with his classes and bowling and everything,” Rollinger said. “Right up to the end.”

Schweitzer was born Jan. 22, 1903, in Toledo, Ohio. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art and moved in the 1940s to Los Angeles, where he pursued a career in commercial and advertising art.

He moved to Laguna Beach 24 years ago.

Schweitzer, who was tutored in calligraphy by the scribe for the Queen of England, taught calligraphy at Coastline Community College, the Art Institute of Laguna Beach and for the city’s Recreation Department. He also gave private lessons from his home studio.

Sometimes Schweitzer was commissioned to create scrolls or certificates, his wife said, and other times he produced them on a whim.

“He was a dreamer and an artist,”’ she said, remembering the day he decided to make a scroll commemorating the 25th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Initially dubious, Eve Schweitzer said she began sending letters to England. Eventually, security clearance was arranged and in 1984 they were received in Buckingham Palace by the queen’s secretary, she said.

Schweitzer also made scrolls for presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and for entertainers Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Red Skelton, Eve Schweitzer said.

Even members of his Leisure World bowling team received his attention.

“If somebody had three strikes in a row, the next time we’d meet, he’d have an award for that person,” she said. “He had a lot of fun doing it. . . . He didn’t consider it work.”

Schweitzer was a member of Masonic and B’nai B’rith lodges, the Jewish Community Center of Orange County, the Exchange Club of Laguna Beach and the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce.

His book “21st Century Applied Calligraphy, the Schweitzer Method” was published in 1984.

In 1989, the Laguna Beach Patriots Day parade committee named Schweitzer Citizen of the Year.

In addition to his wife, Schweitzer is survived by a son, Stuart of Los Angeles; a daughter, Rejean Anderson of Sacramento; stepdaughters, Barbara Ravitz and Elaine Diamond, both of Los Angeles; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The funeral was held Sunday. The family plans to hold a memorial service in Laguna Beach later.