Erwin Harold Schwiebert

Erwin Harold Schwiebert, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather died peacefully surrounded by family in Boise, Idaho on December 3rd of cancer at the age 84. 

Erwin grew up in Caldwell, Idaho. Following his graduation from College of Idaho with a Bachelor of Science in Physics, he went to Ghana as a Peace Corps volunteer to teach science. When he returned to the United States, he attended Oregon State University and achieved a Master of Science in Physics. He was hired by McDonald Douglas in China Lake California to work on the Space Program. During this time his daughters Kathryn and Heidi were born. He returned to Caldwell so his children would be closer to family.

His first goal upon returning to Caldwell was to build houses for himself and his parents. During the building he heard that Hewlett Packard was building a plant in Boise and that they were hiring Electrical Engineers. He decided to go to University of Idaho to complete a master’s in electrical engineering, which he completed in 18 months, and was hired by HP. He worked on a team that created the first Laser Jet Printer, which he earned a patent for. He had a desire to be a better manager at HP, so he pursued his Master’s degree in Management of Technology from NTU. 

It was during his time at HP that he met Penelope Schwiebert. They married in 1987 and formed a blended family with his daughters, her daughter (Nicole) and son (Jason). 

Erwin and Penelope enjoyed many years traveling by car, train, plane, and boat around the world (Canada, Europe, Greece, Turkey, China, South America, Central America, Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, Baltics, Antarctica, and United States to name a few). Because of their love for building things, they worked with contractors to build two homes in Boise.  When their cabin in McCall needed to be expanded and remodeled, they had some contractors, but mostly taught family members the skills while enjoying time with them. The cabin became a very special place for weekends, vacations, family reunions (to celebrate each grandchild’s 16th birthday) and Cousins Camps (for the grandchildren). 

After his 30 years at HP, he took early retirement when HP was downsizing. This gave him the opportunity to work as a consultant for Tech Help and The Schwiebert Group (Penelope’s consulting firm). When Jason was interested in starting a home performance and HVAC design business, Erwin was right there as part of the team at Osprey Building Performance. He retired from his position in 2021.

He made a big difference in many people’s lives with his eagerness and willingness to share his wide range of knowledge and experience. He was a great listener and jokester. The family called his one-liners “Erwinisms”. He was intelligent, industrious, kind, patient and loving.

Erwin is survived by his spouse, Penelope; children, Kathryn (James), Heidi (Chris), Nicole (Matt) and Jason (Victoria); along with grandchildren Joshua (Kassandra), Nicholas, Alyssa, Payton, Sarah, Landon, Maria, Madison and Sydney and great-grandchildren, Jayden, Erwin and Brooks. He has always been close to his siblings and siblings-in-law, John, Pat, Jean, Jim, Glenn, Jeff, Veronica, Pamela, Joseph, and Jill as well as many nieces and nephews including Rhiannon, Aaron, and Amanda. He was grateful for his many friends and especially the OFN from HP.