Doris Swart 1923-2020
Doris Carolyne Swart, 93, of Holton, passed away Thursday, Oct. 30, 2020, in Carmel, Ind.
She was born Oct. 16, 1927, in the family home north of Holton, the daughter of Fred and Josephine (Sigmund) Dachenhausen. Glenn, her brother was the oldest, then Doris, Martha and Edrie. They all grew up on the family farm during the Depression.
Doris graduated from Wetmore High School in 1945, then worked for the Santa Fe Railroad in Topeka. In 1952, Doris married William John Swart of Goff. They went to live in Manhattan as Bill completed college on the GI Bill and they started their family.
They later lived in Mount Vernon, Ill., and moved to Wabash, Ind., in 1959, where they spent the next 30-plus years. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church, the Elks Club, the Wabash Country Club and Tri Kappa Social Sorority.
Throughout their lifetime in Indiana, the Swarts were involved with Funk’s G Hybrid, so corn was their life. How us kids hated those Sunday drives to “watch” the corn grow and count population. Bill and Doris enjoyed many years of seed corn meetings across the country with co-workers and friends.
The entire family always took summer trips across the country in our “pop up” camper and visited almost every state.
Doris was also active with her family with the ongoing 4-H projects that took up every summer. Gardening, cooking, canning and freezing foods were an integral part of her life. Doris was best known for her rhubarb products: rhubarb cake, jams and mostly her famous rhubarb custard pie. A family favorite, plus there was always corn.
In addition, Doris was always sewing making the school skirts, clothes, dresses and prom dresses. Many times, we were literally “sown” into the dress since we ran out of time. In 1964, Doris was selected as Mother of the year in Wabash.
Doris was a stay-at-home mother raising four children, Deborah Lyne, David Allen, Denise Carol and Diane Rena, until she joined the real estate world as an agent for Century 21 in 1974, an occupation she loved. In 1988, Doris and Bill left Wabash for retirement in Crossville, Tenn., where they had many wonderful years of playing golf, family visits and traveling the world.
She is survived by her daughters, Deborah L. Woehler (husband Thomas) of Houston, Texas, Denise C. Stover (husband Dave) of Galveston, Ind., Diane R. Kink (husband Bruce) of The Woodlands, Texas, and Jo Swart, wife of Doris’s deceased son, David Allen Swart, who left this world in December of 2018; and her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Carl and Ruth Swart, in Seneca.
Doris has eight grandchildren, two stepgrandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, plus 13 nieces and nephews.
Doris was preceded in death by her husband, Bill Swart; sister Edrie Thompson; and brother Glenn Dachenhausen. Her sister Martha Heller resides in Delaware.
The date for the celebration of life will be set in the near future. A special thank you goes to Lynn Pont, Pam Chalis and Caroline McNelley for their amazing care and love for mom in the last years of her life.
Donations in Doris’s honor can be made to Fairfield Methodist Church, 231 Westchester Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558, where she and Bill were members for more than 20 years during their retirement.
(PAID OBITUARY)
