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| One of our adventures... traveling with Flat Stanley |
My aunt, Pauline Swift, was 86 years old. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana,
and lived there most of her life.
Her childhood and teenage years were spent in Wiliamsburg, KY, and she
will be buried there with her mother, father and sister Dorothy. She was my mom’s sister and best
friend, and she will be missed.
Although her death came unexpectedly, that is not to say that she was
unprepared. She had a firm faith
in her Savior Jesus Christ, and was always ready to give an answer for the hope
that was within her.
Pauline was a caring and responsible person. When her mother died she stepped into
the responsibilities that were left behind. She began to assume the role of mother to my mother who was
only eighteen months old at the time. Although she had several suitors, she felt strongly
that she needed to remain with her father and some of the siblings who needed
her, and because of this she did not marry for many years.
When I was small we lived in a duplex in Indianapolis. Pauline lived in the other side of the
duplex along with my aunt Dorothy and my grandpa. Pauline worked as a teletype operator at a company called
Mallory’s to support her family.
Even after we moved to the suburbs, my family spent lots of time at
Pauline’s home, celebrating birthdays and holidays and visiting with
out-of-town visitors who dropped in regularly. Pauline’s home was a gathering place, and she was a gracious
hostess.
In regards to living out her faith, she was always finding
ways to serve the Lord. She was
saved as a teenager, and shortly afterwards began teaching Sunday School. Throughout her life she worked with
children and youth, planning activities and programs for their enjoyment and
spiritual development. As she grew
older she was active in visiting friends and relatives who were in nursing
homes or just in need of a friend.
She took friends to doctor’s appointments and ran errands for them if
she was needed.
Pauline finally did get married to Earl Swift in 1977 when
she was 49 years old. They made a happy
life together until his death due to cancer in 2000. They were married for 23 years. Earl’s children told me that they were so thankful for
Pauline being there for their dad and that she was a wonderful stepmother to
them all.
Pauline was very active politically. She voted in every election and called
her representatives and senators regularly to voice her opinion on the issues
of the day. When I was going
through her address book, when I got to the W’s, she had an entry for the White
House.
Although she often said to me, “I hate to say too much
because my voice sounds so bad,” you didn’t have to be around her too long to
know that she was not shy at all and spoke up regularly in her Sunday School
class and in church when the opportunity arose. She was not at all hesitant to share her faith or to tell
people who were facing hard times that they needed the Lord, that He would get
them through.
I learned many things from my Aunt Pauline…what to do if you
want to wear shoes with no socks, what to do if you run out of chocolate icing
when you make a cake, how to find your car in a large parking lot. But most of all she’s been a good
example to me of how to grow old.
She left her home in Indianapolis after living most of her life there
and moved to Dunlap two years ago.
She did it while she was still able to make those decisions and didn’t
wait until it was too late.
Having lived alone in downtown Indianapolis for many years, she was
cautious but not fearful. She
minimized her risks. When she
first moved to Dunlap she kept everything locked up tight as she had before,
but she became more comfortable and realized that Dunlap was a safer
place. She no longer felt the need
to barricade the door at night.
What I’m saying is that she was still capable of changing her
habits.
Never wanting to be without a church home, she joined our
church the week after she moved in.
She was a faithful member and joined in to all the activities we had to
offer. She always had
encouraging words for those around her.
When we went to Canada last summer she paid for a scholarship for a
camper, so she remained a generous giver to the Lord’s work to the end. She was faithful in prayer and Bible
study and had a Bible that was well worn from use.
A few weeks ago she went for a routine checkup at the
doctor’s. She was very healthy
aside from some pain in her legs.
Dr. Daniel asked her if she had a living will. She told Dr. Daniel that she didn’t want to make one, that
she would let the Lord take care of it.
Of course, I was rolling my eyes at that, thinking that I would like for
her to help us make some of the decisions that I knew could lie ahead. But in the end, she was right, the Lord
did take care of it. And for that,
we are all really thankful.
