Obituary of Linda M. Swanson

Linda M. Swanson passed peacefully from this life on June 18, 2018, in Olympia, Washington.  She was born on October 31, 1942, in Washington, DC, the youngest of four children born to Everett and Pauline (Smith) Korthius. 

 

Linda grew up in Richmond, California.  Shortly after graduating from high school in 1961, Linda married James Hoskins, Sr.  In December 1962, she gave birth to their son, John Robert Hoskins.  Shortly after the birth of their son, Jim was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Jim and Linda spent two very happy years in Texas before Jim was tragically killed in a car accident.  Five months after his death, Linda gave birth to their daughter Colleen Marie. Jim always wanted a daughter and he once told Linda he wanted her to be named Colleen.

 

In 1966, Linda met Edward Swanson Sr. and three months later they married in Reno, Nevada.  They remained married until Ed’s death in December, 2014. 

 

In 1978, Ed and Linda moved to Nampa, Idaho, with John, Colleen, and their youngest child, Sharon.  Linda worked for US Bank for more than20 years.  Her true joy was raising her three children and, in the summer months of the early 1970s, helping raise Ed’s three sons from his earlier marriage. 

 

Ed and Linda were inseparable and the best of friends.  They loved gardening, playing pinnacle, and watching their grandchildren grow.  After the tragic death of their daughter Colleen in 2006, Ed and Linda spent the next eight years raising Colleen’s young daughters, Heather and Kristen.  Linda was happiest watching her granddaughters play and grow into the beautiful young ladies they are today. 

 

Linda was a very modest person and only a few people knew of her ability to play most musical instruments by ear.  She was a talented, published writer and was a voracious reader.  Linda was incredibly smart and loved her word puzzles and Sudoku.

 

Above all, Linda was a woman of deep faith.  She suffered tremendous loss during her life.  She was a two-time cancer survivor. She never questioned her faith in God.   She continued to pray and give generously of herself.  She remained the kindest, most optimistic woman her friends and family knew.  Late in her life she was proud to become a Deacon at the First United Presbyterian Church in Nampa. 

 

Linda is survived by her daughter, Sharon Swanson; her sister, Rosemary Barrier; her “one of a kind pal,” Natalie Allen; her three stepsons, Mike, Mitch and Ed Swanson; her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.  She lost her beloved son, John Hoskins, in March of 2015.  

Her family wants to thank the congregation of First United Presbyterian church in Nampa and the wonderful caregivers at Brookdale Memory Care in Olympia, Washington.  Linda was loved by all who knew her until her final moments.

 

Some bright morning when this life is over

 I’ll fly away

To that home on God’s celestial shore

I’ll fly away

 

I’ll fly away, oh glory

I’ll fly away in the morning

When I die hallelujah by and by

I’ll fly away

 

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