Gloria Mae Swanson
Gloria Mae Swanson, 85, died October 20, 2012 at her home in Hallock, Minnesota.
- Gloria Mae Swanson
Gloria Mae Swanson
Gloria Mae Swanson, 85, died October 20, 2012 at her home in Hallock, Minnesota.
Gloria Mae Swanson was born in Redwing, Minnesota on May 14, 1927 to Olaf and Edythe (Grow) Borseth, the first born of eight children. She spent most of her childhood in Wadena, Minnesota and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where she graduated from Roosevelt High School. She attended Macalester College in St. Paul and graduated with degrees in English and music. Gloria taught school in the Minnesota communities of Henderson, Kasson-Mantorville and Albert Lea.
On June 1, 1957, she was married to John Leonard Swanson. They lived in Hallock, Minnesota. Gloria continued pursuing her interests in music and English as she raised her family. She substitute taught when needed at Hallock High School. She gave piano lessons to countless students throughout several decades; a number of these students became close friends. Over the years, Gloria directed choirs at First Presbyterian Church; at one point it was a family affair with both Leonard and Tom singing in the choir and Ann accompanying on the organ.
Gloria was active in a local women’s service club that worked to re-establish and then improve the Hallock Public Library. She enjoyed the written word and was an avid reader and writer. She co-wrote two biographies and crafted many essays, many of which were published in the newspaper. Gloria was an organizing founder of the Hallock Community Theatre. During her 25 year involvement with the group she directed many productions and co-wrote and co-produced the Hallock Centennial Pageant and Back Home Days shows. Gloria had strong opinions which she was not afraid to express and was fond of discussing politics and current events. She was extremely proud of her grandkids and enjoyed talking with them about their future plans.
Gloria is survived by her son Tom (Maureen) of Hallock; her daughter Ann (Jay) Sommer of Walker; four grandchildren; Alex Sommer, Shannon Swanson, Isak Sommer and Ericka Swanson; sisters, Marilyn Fialkowski of Sioux Falls, SD, Ramona (John) Carpenter of Burnsville, Lorna (Charles) Bastis of Nevis, and Phyllis (Harlan) Syverson of Eden Prairie; brother Gerald of Mound, MN; sisters-in-law, Harriet Washburn of Stockton, CA and Barbara Borseth of Nevis; brother-in-law Paul Lohmann of Henderson, NV; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Leonard; sister Helene Lohmann; brother Eugene Borseth; sisters-in-law Jean Swanson and Rita Borseth; brother-in-law Paul Fialkowski; nieces Jacqueline Batt and Karen Syverson; aunts; uncles; cousins and friends.
Services will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Hallock at 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 27, 2012.
Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Hallock.
Visitation will be held at the church for one hour prior to the funeral service.
The Austin Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. www.austinfuneralchapel.com
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Adele S.
Grandin, ND 10/25/2012 3:00 PM
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Michael R.
Gloria Swanson was also a founder of The Scribe Tribe, which was a community of writers in Northwest Minnesota. The Scribe Tribe began as a continuing education course in 1966. . Bob Norton, was not only a writing teacher, but a member as were Pat Rustad, Gloria Swanson, Virginia Ott, Don Keller, and others who joined the group.. The high school writing class morphed into a club with meetings in homes. These were more than social events and everyone in the club felt a great social pressure to produce writing. My Mother's writing was a byproduct of Gloria's encouragement as well as the guidance of the other writers. It was Dotty Boatz who first suggested that a writing course taught at Humboldt-St. Vincent High School continue on as a club and she was one of the most active members. The Scribe Tribe proved to be a huge success and Gloria and Virginia Ott wrote a very interesting book on Fred Jones, who was an innovative handyman and inventor who lived in Hallock. The title of the book was Man With a Million Ideas: Fred Jones, Genius/Inventor by Virginia Ott (Author), Gloria Borseth Swanson (Author). My mother considered Gloria Swanson one of the real treasures of N.W. Minnesota and one of her closest friends. Leonard and Gloria Swanson were civic leaders in Hallock. The Farmer's Store, of course, was one of the most wonderful local institutions and a place of destination for all who grew up in Kittson County. I enjoyed talking with Gloria because her strong opinions were fact-based. She was a well-informed person who added so much to the community and her legacy is that she made the world a much more interesting place! She will be very missed. Sincerely, Michael Rustad (son of A.H. Rustee Rustad and Patricia Carrigan Rustad, Humboldt, Minnesota)..South Burlington, VT 10/28/2012 8:57 AM
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