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Photo of Rose Mary Swaney

Rose Mary Swaney

12/17/1920 - 1/31/2012


Obituary


Rose Mary Swaney, 91, of Britt, passed away Tuesday, January 31, 2012, at Sunny View Care Center in Ankeny.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Rose Swaney will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at 10:30 am at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Britt with Rev. Dennis Miller officiating.  Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery in Britt.

Visitation will be held on Friday, February 3, 2012, from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Ewing Funeral Chapel, 178 Center Street West, in Britt with a parish rosary at 7:00 pm.  Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church.

Rose the daughter of Anthony and Catherine (Laux) Seiler was born December 17, 1920 near Algona.  She was raised in the Sexton and Algona area and attended school and church at St. Benedict.  She attended Nashua High School for two years; completed her last two years at Wesley High School.  Following graduation from high school Rose worked several jobs around the Algona area.

Rose was united in marriage with Dale Swaney on October 17, 1942 in Bastrop, Texas.  Following Dale’s discharge from the Army the couple lived in Mason City for a time.  They then moved to Britt where they were engaged in farming.  In 1965 they moved into Britt.  Rose was employed as a cook at the Tip-Top Café in Britt before beginning a long career at Westview Care Center where she cooked for nearly 20 years.

Rose continued to live in their home following Dale’s death in 1993 until moving to Des Moines in 2006.  While in Des Moines Rose lived with her daughter so Sandy could take care of her.  In May of 2011 Rose entered Sunny View Care Center in Ankeny and loved her time there.

She was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Britt.    Rose enjoyed crocheting, sewing, quilting, cooking, watching and feeding birds, fishing and gardening.  She was a collector of cookbooks and trinkets.  Rose dearly loved it when family, especially her grandchildren,  and friends stopped by “her palace” to visit.

Rose is survived by three children: Larry (Nancy) Swaney of North Liberty, Ron (Becky) Swaney of Marshall, Michigan, Sandy Malek of Des Moines; daughter-in-law Ginger Swaney of Hampton; nine grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; two sisters: Maxine “Mickey” Noble of Britt, JoAnn Heifner of Humboldt; numerous niece, nephews and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Raymond “Dale”; son Frank; grandson Brent; four brothers: John, LeRoy, Jim and Kenneth in infancy.