Wilma Luella Swor
September 2, 1920 - June 14, 2004
Obituary
BIOGRAPHY
Wilma Luella Walker was born on September 2, 1920 in Tulare, South Dakota. Her father’s name was Mahlon Walker and her mother’s name was Ella Mae Price Walker. She had two older siblings, Laura and Bob, and five younger siblings: Dorothy, June, Ivan, Bette, and Mary. Wilma was born on a farm just outside the town. The family and extended family were active in the Methodist Church. In 1931, her uncle, Bert Walker, a Methodist Pastor, baptized Wilma and her brothers and sisters, where the family was living in town at the time. In 1936, Wilma’s younger sister, June, died of diphtheria at the age of 12. The house was put under quarantine while Wilma wasn’t at home, but when she got home, she insisted on crossing the quarantine so that she could stay in the home with the family and help her mother with the children.
Wilma attended Tulare High School and graduated in 1937 when she was 16 years old. After high school, she attended Dakota Wesleyan College for a year and studied singing. In 1940, she went to Long Beach, California to live with her Uncle Russell and Uncle Lyle and worked in Farmers & Merchants Bank. Wilma had a beautiful soprano voice and was often asked to sing with the Glen Gray & Casaloma Orchestra and other dance bands in the area.
In 1941, the family started heading west. Wilma’s sister, Laura, was the first to come to Washington with a couple of girl friends, and the rest of the family followed shortly thereafter. Wilma’s father, Mahlon, came ahead of the family in February to get settled in and start a new job at a dairy farm in Yelm. In May, Wilma’s mother, Ella brought siblings Ivan and Mary to join their father in Yelm. Shortly after that, Dorothy and her husband, Glenn came in August with their 4 month old son, Charlie. They both worked in Fort Lewis at the hospital until Dorothy quit to prepare for the birth of her second child, Bonnie. Wilma’s sister, Bette, also moved to Yelm in August, and came with Harold Kloss and his family. In the early 1940’s, Wilma joined the family in Seattle where they all ended up in the Holly Park area.
Shortly thereafter, she met Chancey Edward Swor 2/12/1916 -12/13/1981, known as Bud. Bud opened and managed the new Holly Park Safeway Store. He joined the Army during World War II, but he and Wilma corresponded throughout his stay in the war. After his return following the war, they were married on November 11, 1946 Armistice Day in Seattle and enjoyed their honeymoon at Grand Coulee Dam, in central Washington. Their first daughter, Julia Rae, was born on August 24th 1948 in Renton, Washington. Daughter Linnea Lael was born on May 23, 1950 and daughter Vikki Lou was born on April 19, 1951. Linnea and Vikki were born in Yakima, Washington. In 1953 Bud took a job as a beer distributor for Heidelberg Brewery and worked in Yakima, Benton City and Kennewick. During that time, Wilma was a secretary at the Painters Union a local construction company, a secretary at Hanford, and ultimately began working for the Washington State Employment Office which she did until she retired. During Wilma’s tenure with Washington State Employment Services, she worked in the Tri-Cities, Ephrata, and Tacoma.
In 1958, Bud decided to become a real estate agent and started his first job with Adams and Associates Realty Company. After several years, he earned his brokers license and opened his own business, Swor Realty, in Kennewick. He continued that business until he died from a heart attack at age 65 in 1981.
Wilma shared her love of music with her daughters. She had perfect pitch and truly enjoyed singing. She taught the girls the do-re-mi scales at a very early age and they would all sing them together just for fun. She taught herself how to play the piano and organ, and the girls would sit with her at the piano and sing ’40’s and ’50’s popular music and harmonize together. All three girls were active in the Pep Club and served as school officers throughout junior high and high school. Julie and Linnea were also both active in junior and senior high school choirs and ensembles. Wilma attended their concerts and encouraged them all in their class studies. Julia graduated from Pasco High School in 1966, Linnea in 1968, and Vikki in 1969.
Wilma and Bud loved dancing, playing pinochle and going to the semi-professional baseball games in the Tri-Cities. Sometimes Wilma and Bud would roll back the carpet in the living room and have the girls slip and slide on the wooden floors in thick, soft cotton socks to polish up the floor for a night of dancing. Wilma and Bud also had pinochle parties frequently, and whenever Bud and Wilma visited Wilma’s family or the family came to Wilma’s house, you knew they would be playing cards long into the night. During the summer, Wilma and Bud became acquainted with many of the semi-pro baseball players and invited them to their home for barbecues and parties. One summer, Wilma loaned her old 1950 T-bird she had bought from her sister, Mary, to a couple of the players so they could get from game to game during the season.
Wilma and Bud lived near Columbia Basin Community College CBC. One year while the girls were still in high school, the family decided to rent the basement bedrooms to three Hawaiian college students who were attending CBC on football scholarships Richard ”Rap” Rapoza, Fred Tubbs and Byron Lovell. One night when the whole family was sleeping, the boys came home from being out late and they noticed a small electrical fire had started in the hallway wall. They hurriedly got everyone up, and Bud proceeded to put the fire out. Wilma insisted that Bud call the fire department just to be sure nothing was smoldering inside the wall. When the firemen arrived, everyone was sitting in the living room in their pajamas. The firemen walked into the house in full gear and carrying axes, and the lead fireman said, ”What is this? A pajama party!” Everyone had a good laugh and it all turned out fine. However, to cap the evening off, we discovered that Byron, one of the Hawaiians, had disappeared and we soon found him asleep on the bathroom floor in the only bathroom with the door locked. Those were very interesting times.
In 1970, Wilma’s daughter, Vikki, went to Hawaii with some friends for the summer and ended up staying for a few years. There, she met Patrick Murphy, and they eloped on September 21, 1973 in Hawaii. Wilma’s daughter, Linnea, married David Wallace Heaverlo in Ephrata on September 22, 1973. By this time, Wilma and Bud had severed their marriage, and Wilma was living and working in Ephrata.
A short time later, Wilma relocated to Gig Harbor and worked in Tacoma for the State Employment Agency. She loved her work and did many extra things to assist her clients in finding jobs and having the necessary food and clothing to make it through difficult times.
She retired in 1980 and moved to her summer home on Herron Island where she lived until she became ill and was back and forth between the hospital, an assisted care facility and the island. Ultimately, her medical needs required that she be moved to an assisted care facility. She was moved to Cottesmore Life Care where she received excellent care and was well liked by both the residents and the employees. This was a very difficult time for Wilma, but her spirits rarely lagged and she made the most of a bad situation as she had done throughout her life.
Wilma’s youngest sister, Mary, had a son in 1966. Wilma became very attached to ”Billy,” and he would come and visit her on the island every summer and fish and play cards and go to the little store on the island to buy candy. She had always wanted a son, and he was just perfect in her eyes. Later, as Wilma’s five grandchildren were born, she started the game of ”pockets” where she would put candy, gum, or quarters in her pockets every time they came to visit, and they would always look forward to seeing what she had for them in her pockets. In 1976, Wilma’s first grandchild was born and she was in heaven. She finally had grandchildren to dote on. Over the next six years, four more grandchildren were born and she could not have been happier. She regretted that she did not get to spend enough time with them.
Her first three grandchildren born were born to her daughter Linnea. The first grandchild, Jesse David Heaverlo, was born 8/18/1976 in Palo Alto, California. Jesse graduated from Central Washington University and currently works as a Manager for Rescue Rooter Plumbing. The next grandchild born was Jefferey Edward Alan Heaverlo born 1/13/1978 in Palo Alto, California. Jeff currently plays professional baseball for the Seattle Mariners organization and is assigned to the Tacoma Rainiers Triple A ball club. Her third grandson, Kyle Walker Heaverlo, was born 10/10/1980 in Bellevue, Washington. Kyle attended Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake and then transferred to Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana for the past two years. He is returning to Washington State this fall to complete his teaching certificate and hopes to teach grade school age children. Wilma stayed with Linnea after the birth of each grandson and was a great help to Linnea. She loved her grandchildren very much. Each one was special to her.
Julia Swor gave birth to twin daughters, Danielle Kathleen Swor and Christina Lou Swor on November 3, 1982. Danielle works for Alaska Air and is pursuing a nursing career. She was recently engaged and is planning a wedding for next June. Christina works for Chameleon Data and is also pursuing a nursing career. She is engaged to be married in October of 2004. Wilma was a great help both before and after the twins were born. She cared for them for their first year while Julia returned to work as a manager for the Battelle Conference Center. During this time, a strong bond was built between Wilma and her granddaughters, and it has remained strong over the years.
After she retired to Herron Island, she became closely involved with the little community church and occasionally preached during Sunday services. She enjoyed the fellowship with her neighbors and wrote and published the church newsletter. She wrote several short stories and composed a musical play called ”The Covenant.” She wrote the script and the songs. Wilma was a busy, intelligent, active, humorous outgoing woman all of her life. She enjoyed working crossword puzzles and vocabulary quizzes. She was articulate and creative. She created oil and acrylic paintings and gave them to her family and friends. She had a green thumb and especially enjoyed growing begonias and roses, specializing in unique colors like her lavender roses. She would get quite annoyed with the deer when they would eat her rose petals, and erected chicken wire fencing around all her roses in an attempt to keep them away. She loved the wild life on Herron Island, and adopted stray cats when they came to her door for food.
We all remember Wilma as a strong, independent woman with a generous nature. She loved to can summer vegetables and then give them away to her family and friends. She continued to can until she was in her 80’s. We always said there were two subjects not to bring up in a conversation with her – religion and politics. You weren’t going to win any discussions on those subjects! She was a staunch Republican and took part in the Washington State Caucus. Over the years, she contributed to the Republican party, receiving letters and pictures from the Reagan administration and both Bush administrations. She cherished all those letters and pictures she got from “her presidents.” She made sure Dani and Chrissy were registered to vote in the 2000 election because they turned 18 just before the election date. She strongly suggested they vote for Governor Bush and gave them all the reasons why they should.
While Wilma struggled with her health over the last several years, during the past two years, her health steadily deteriorated to the point that she needed nursing care. She believed she could take care of herself on the island no matter what, and it was difficult to convince her that she needed this special care and attention. After each episode at the hospital, she spent time at Cottesmore of Life Care recuperating, but she always insisted on going home. In 2003, she spent more time in the hospital and at Cottesmore than she did at home, and it became apparent that she needed permanent care in a full-care facility. She decided to go back to Cottesmore Life Care Center in Gig Harbor because she felt she was receiving excellent personal care and she especially liked the people who cared for her. She enjoyed the young people working there, and two young women in particular, Dani and Julie, were very good to her and made her feel loved.
Dani tells a story about how not long ago, after Wilma’s first stroke, one of Patsy Cline’s CDs was playing in her room. She could hear Wilma and her roommate, Adeline, singing the song ”After Midnight” word for word along with the music. This was astounding because Wilma’s speech patterns had been affected from the stroke and in regular speech she was unable to put the right words together. She also continued the tradition of playing cards, and when Linnea or Danielle would visit, they always played Gin Rummy, with Wilma winning more games than she lost. When Vikki visited her, she would take her to the piano and Wilma could still sit and play to her enjoyment.
Early Saturday morning, June 12th, Wilma suffered a heart attack and a massive stroke and was taken to St. Joseph’s Medical Care Hospital in Tacoma. Her family stayed with her around the clock. She passed away peacefully on Monday, June 14th. She will be loved and always remembered by her family, her friends on Herron Island, and friends from many places in Washington State.
Julie: We worked together many years ago in Soroptimist, Seattle North, and through the years lost contact. I am very sorry to read about your mom’s passing – what a wonderful bio of her life. She was obviously an amazing person, and am sorry I never got to meet her. Plese contact me via e-mail and let’s connect again. My deepest sympathy to you and your family. Lois
As a friend of Linnie’s, I have visited the house on Heron Island once back in 1973. Now I know where Linnie gets her love of singing!! My love and prayers are with you all!!
Kathy Daos
Dear Julie, Linnie,and Vicki, Jane, my sister,just read your mom’s memorial in the Tri-City Herald to me.She called me and so did my mom. They both saw it in the paper. we all were so sad to hear of her passing but know she is with the Lord Jesus right now, healed and whole. Was in the Tri-Cities a week ago and drove down Riverview Drive with Jane and my mom. Did we ever go down memory lane. We said “There’s the Swor house”. Our thoughts and prayers go out to your whole family. Your mom was always so good to all your friends whenever we came over and did she ever love her girls!!!! Love to you all, Marilynn Greene and family
We shall never forget you. You have made a difference in our lives. God bless you.
Dearest Julie, Linnie and Vicki, special thughts and prayers during this time of loss. I enjoyed reading the beautiful memorial on your mom. She was a very special woman. My love and aloha, Bev
Linnie, I am so sorry for your loss. What a wonderful biography to share about your mom and the full life she lead, with a great family by her side. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. Love, Tim, Darla, Tyler & Chelsea
Good bye to a caring aunt and a loving sister to mom.