Tauno Brun Schwelnus was very active in his high school and local community. He ran track and cross country, co-captained the wrestling team, and was class president his senior year. Tauno also was a Boy Scout and a member of the St. Lawrence Valley Dog Club. Tauno’s specialty was Sealyham terriers, and he showed several dogs regionally and nationally, including in the Westminster National Dog Show.
Tauno sang with his church choir and his high school chorus. He also loved to act. Among his roles, he reprised the president of the United States in the Gouverneur High School presentation of The Mouse That Roared and recited a selection from Death of a Salesman in an oratorical contest. His family notes that when Tauno opted for West Point, he turned down admission to the Juilliard School in New York City.
Representative Robert C. McEwen of New York’s 30th Congressional District nominated Tauno to USMA in February 1977, along with his classmates Heidi Mauk, Cynthia O’Neil, and Donna Dermatis.
Tauno spent his plebe year in H-3, then moved to B-1 for his remaining three years. He excelled academically, athletically, and artistically. He wrestled and also coached the B-1 wrestling team firstie year. A perennial dean’s list member, he was especially talented in chemistry, was a member of the American Chemical Society, and one of the rare cadets selected to perform research at the Scientific Research Laboratory. Tauno shined onstage as a member of the acting troupe and the Glee Club, even performing as a soloist. In 1979, he experienced CTLT with the 8th Engineers at Fort Hood, TX, which may be why he selected Armor and Germany for his initial duty.
Tauno also served on the Howitzer staff firstie year, producing the class yearbook. Noted for his lighthearted spirit and outlandish ideas, it makes one wonder if he had anything to do with 73 of his classmates with last names starting with D, E, F, and G hiding out amongst the M’s?
Most of his classmates remember Tauno as a quiet, thoughtful soul, and whip smart—some thought him brilliant. Darryl Peterson shared these memories: “Tauno had a quick wit, with near perfect—and often satirical—timing. He had the strongest grip of anyone I’ve ever known—it was like a vice! Tauno saw USMA as the crucible shaping us, but not the end all of our existence. He gave advice tempered with wisdom beyond our years, adding simple statements to maximize our cadet complexities: ‘Be careful with your first credit card, or it will make everything you buy more expensive, so pay it off every month’; ‘Darryl, relationships matter more than that firstie car’; and perhaps Tauno’s personal motto, ‘Find and pursue what is your real passion!’”
Tauno graduated West Point and was commissioned an Armor second lieutenant. He attended training at the U.S. Army Chemical School at Fort McClellan, AL prior to attending the Armor School at Fort Knox, KY. Then the Army shipped him off to Bavaria to hold back the Warsaw Pact. He served in the 1st Armored Division in Ansbach, Germany.
Apparently, his West Point and Army experiences never extinguished his love for the performing arts. Tauno returned to New York City and pursued acting. His brother Steelson relates how Tauno dreamed up an idea, sold it convincingly to company leaders, and became the original FAO Schwarz toy soldier doorman, an iconic symbol in downtown Manhattan. Steelson says if you watch carefully, you can see Tauno in this role in the movie Big, starring Tom Hanks, and also in Big Business, starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin.
Tauno was born on June 6, 1959 (an auspicious day for a soldier!) in Jamaica, Queens, NY, of German and Finnish ancestry. The family moved to Gouverneur, NY in 1971, where his father opened a chiropractic clinic, which is still operated by his brother, Dr. Steelson Schwelnus, DC.
Tauno left us too early, departing at the young age of 29 on April 14, 1989. Sadly, Tauno was preceded in death by his brother, Edward Otto Schwelnus IV, who died in 1974. For a number of years after Tauno’s death, the Edward and Tauno Schwelnus award for academic excellence was established at Gouverneur High School. At the time of his passing, Tauno was survived by his parents, Dr. Edward Otto Schwelnus III and Verna Constance Puhakka Schwelnus, and six brothers and sisters: Derek Thurston, Diane Nedra, Erika Margaret, Steelson Edward, Audra Day, and Jarl Rolf.