Disney reminds Indiana man of his late wife
Dave Skwarcan looks like an aging wrestler with his whitehaired mohawk and gruff demeanor.
But the 69-year-old retired car mechanic from Indiana has an unexpected soft spot for Walt Disney World, says his daughter Denise Skwarcan.
“The exterior you see doesn’t match the person talking about meeting Mickey and eating a turkey leg,” said his daughter, a sportswriter from Indiana.
Skwarcan spent his life working on cars and coaching football in Indiana 1,200 miles away from Orlando.
His biography doesn’t seem to match somebody who cherishes the brick engraved with his name on it at the Magic Kingdom. He collects Disney watches and displays his Disney memorabilia and photographs on the walls and bookcases in his room.
Skwarcan loves to talk about Disney. It makes him light up, like a kid, even though he is approaching almost 70.
It is a place he misses being with the love of his life, Carol.
The Magic Kingdom had only recently opened when the Skwarcans bundled their two children in the car and drove to Florida in 1972. It was the first trip since their honeymoon for Dave and Carol, a pair of high school sweethearts who grew up less than a mile from each other in South Bend, Ind.
“We saved our pennies and nickels and what not,” said Dave Skwarcan for the three-week road trip.
Over the years, their family grew. They had two more daughters. Their daughters had children. The vacations got bigger. “The minute we pull on the highway, the 10-year-old kid (in me) jumps out, and I want to get in there and see everything and do everything,” said Skwarcan, who has traveled to Walt Disney World 13 times.
He marvels at Walt Disney Co.’s power. The theme park operator builds its own roads, trains employees at its own university and even deploys its own fire department.
“If that’s not impressive to you, I don’t know what I could say to impress you,” Skwarcan said
Skwarcan and his wife celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary at Disney World. Carol ate shrimp at every restaurant during their stay.
He convinced his wife, who hates thrill attractions, to ride Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster and laughed when she uttered an obscenity.
She preferred shopping at Disney or anything Winnie the Pooh, her favorite.
The corners of her mouth turned up and she gave a little smile when she was happy.
“I tried to watch for that,” Skwarcan said. “When I’d see that, I knew all was right.”
Skwarcan returned to Orlando with his children and grandchildren to celebrate the holidays after Carol died of congestive heart failure in 2011.
Being back at Disney made him think of her, and all their many trips together.
“The biggest thing was Christmas. She loved it down there at Christmas, all decorated up,” he said, his voice trailing.