Elizabeth (Betty) Mcswain

Elizabeth McSwain, 84, of Spencer, died Jan. 12, 2009, at her home following a brief illness. A private memorial service will be held at a later date in Phoenix, AZ. Elizabeth (Betty) Anna Rosson was born Feb. 17, 1924, in Readstown, WI, to Albert and Ellyn (York) Rosson. She graduated from Readstown High School in 1941, and from Viterbo College, St.Francis School of Nursing, La Crosse, WI, in 1945. Betty worked as a registered nurse at Gundersen Clinic in La Crosse before enlisting in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1947. She served at Fort Carson in Aurora, CO, where she met Arch Dale McSwain, who was serving in the Army as a lab technician. They were married May 20, 1949. They later were stationed at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX. They also lived in Virginia and Florida. Betty returned to Wisconsin in 1950 and worked at Vernon Memorial Hospital in Viroqua. In 1959, she received her degree in Public Health Nursing from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She served as the Vernon County Public Health Nurse for many years. In 1975, Betty accepted a nursing position at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she lived and worked for nine years. During this time she traveled throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. After retiring as a nurse, Betty moved to Spencer, IA, in 1987 to be near her children and grandchildren. She worked part time as a proctor at Iowa Lakes Community College, Spencer Campus, between 1991 and 2000. Betty was an active volunteer, contributing her time and talents to various non-profit organizations and public agencies through the RSVP Volunteer Program. As a lifelong animal lover, she especially enjoyed her volunteer time at People for Pets. She loved golf, bird watching, gardening, wildlife and nature. She was preceded in death by her son, Michael, in 2001; her husband in 1961; her sister, Alice Glass; her brother, Raymond Rosson; and her parents. Betty is survived by two daughters and their husbands: Susan and Dennis Garvin of Storm Lake, and Mary and Steven Steele of Spencer; five grandchildren: Jill (Jerry) Mills of Jefferson; Joe (Nicole K.) Steele of Spencer; Aaron (Nicole M.) Steele of Ames; Laura (David) Eckert of Ely; and Leslie McSwain, Kingsland, GA; 14 great-grandchildren; special friends, Donna Ekberg, Maxine Salmon, and Bonnie DeMers; other relatives and friends, including the caring residents at Golfview Condominiums. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Hospice of Northwest Iowa, Iowa Lakes Community College for the Elizabeth McSwain Nursing Scholarship, or People for Pets.

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