We mourn the passing of Life Member W. Tracy Sweet.
Born: 07/01/1937
Initiated: 10/15/1963
Died: 01/25/2024
William Tracy Sweet, 86, of Nora Springs, died Jan. 25 2024 at
the Nora Springs Care Center of congestive heart failure. He was a
former longtime resident of Charles City.
Tracy was bom July 1 1937, in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of
Lowell and Edna (Hodge). Tracy grew up in Charles City, graduated from Charles City High School in 1955, and attended Iowa State University (known at the time as Iowa State College) and the University of Iowa. On October 17 1959, Tracy married Sheryl (Sherry)Bonzer at the First Methodist Church in Charles City.
Tracy worked for a number of years at Salsbury Laboratories and then became a technical writer for the Oliver Corporation in Charles City. He became the company photographer at Oliver (which later
became White Farm Equipment) and held that position from 1969 to 1976. In 1976 Tracy and Sherry established Tracy Sweet Photography in Charles City, which they operated until their retirement in 2010. After retirement he devoted more of his time to his artwork.
Tracy was well known for both his photography and his paintings, and for his lifelong advocacy for the arts. He served on the
board of directors ofIowans for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council. Locally, Tracy and Sherry were among the founding members of the Charles City Arts Council in 1961, and he served on its board of directors four separate times. He was president of the Arts
Council in 1970, and director of the Charles City Arts Center from
1997 to 2005. He eventually received a lifetime membership in the
Arts Council.
Tracy was also president of the Charles City PTA Council in the
1970s, and during that period he and Sherry helped organize the
Friends of Talented and Gifted in the Charles City school system.
Later, he acted as president of the Charles City Community Concert Association for 16 years.
Tracy had been a member ofthe Elks Lodge in Charles City
since 1962. During 1970 he served as Exalted Ruler of the Lodge.
That same year he had the privilege of both breaking ground for
the new Elks Lodge and laying its cornerstone. He was granted a
lifetime membership in the Elks several years ago.
Tracy is survived by his wife Sherry, daughter Sally Sweet and
her husband Keith Patterson of Minneapolis, and son Andrew
Sweet and his wife Deena Lewis of Seattle, a number of nieces
and nephews and several cousins. Tracy was preceded in death by
his parents, his brother, and his sister-in-law.
A memorial service will be held in early spring. Sweet has been
cremated and will be interred at Riverside Cemetery alongside his
mother and father. In remembrance of Tracy, the family asks that
any charitable donations be made to the Charles City Arts Center.