Edith Swanson

Edith Swanson, longtime Bartlesville resident, died on June, 16 , 2006, at United Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota following a fall in her apartment on June 9th. Edith Elizabeth Brewer was born near Durant, Oklahoma on March 25, 1911. She completed a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Southeastern College in Durant. Her first job was teaching high school music at Fox, Oklahoma, an oilfield consolidated school, after which she moved to the Bartlesville School District. During her 38-year teaching career, Edith attended graduate school in Greeley, Colorado and taught many grade levels including kindergarten, first, and fourth grades at Lincoln, Horace Mann, College High, Southview, Garfield, and Will Rogers. Her love of music and children enriched each classroom. Edith was a member of First Baptist Church in Bartlesville. After directing the choir there for several interim periods, she served as a Sunday School teacher for 11-year old girls, young professional women, and senior adults. She was a member of the Bill Kruckenberg - Lloyd Minter Senior Adult Class. In 1940 Edith married Herbert C. Swanson, an accountant with Phillips Petroleum Company. Their early married life was interrupted by his service in WWII - she followed him to Army bases in Lawton, OK; Sherman, PA; Washington, DC; and Chicago, IL before they settled back in Bartlesville with their daughter Elizabeth Sue. After living in Bartlesville for 65 years, Edith sold her Woodland Park home with its beautiful rose garden in 2002 and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota to be near her daughter and son-in-law. In her new apartment she displayed the many china pieces she had painted during her 3-decade retirement - a time of enjoyment with friends, family, and other china painters. Preceding her in death were her beloved husband Herbert, her parents, John and Nola (Wheeler) Brewer, 3 brothers, 5 sisters, and 2 infant great-granddaughters. Edith is survived by children, Sue (Swanson) and Grant Fair of St. Paul; grandchildren, Harry and Paula Fair of Phoenix, Richard and Norma Fair of Houston, Michael and Staci Fair of Austin, Texas; and 5 great-grandchildren, Elizabeth, Alexander, and Catherine of Phoenix, and Jacob and Sofia of Houston. Other survivors include 1 sister, Bertha Brewer Reed of Ft. Worth, and many nieces and nephews. A funeral service at Messiah Church in St. Paul on July 1st brought many friends and family members together in thankfulness to God for Edith's life. As a young girl, Edith accepted God's gift of salvation through Jesus. That covenant continued throughout her life and now holds her securely for all eternity in Heaven with her Lord. A graveside service conducted by Dr. Joe Dan Fowler will be held at 2:00 PM at Bartlesville's Memorial Park Cemetery on Friday, September 1, 2006. Friends are invited to gather afterward at First Baptist Church, Fourth and Cherokee for a 3 PM reception. Funeral services are under the direction of the Neekamp-Luginbuel Funeral Home. Online condolences for Edith Swanson can be left at www.honoringmemories.com.

Service Details

Friday, September 1st, 2006 2:00pm, Memorial Park Cemetery Bartlesville

Interment Details

Memorial Park Cemetery Bartlesville