Laconia, NH-----Etta May Langley Codwise Swanson, 90, of 406 Court Street and formerly of 46 Dartmouth Street and Charlevoix Place, died at the Lakes Region General Hospital on Sunday, December 4, 2011.
Etta was born December 5, 1920 in Melrose, Mass., the daughter of Arthur Franklin and Edith (Foote) Langley.
Etta grew up in Melrose, MA and graduated from Melrose High School. Etta was a key punch operator for the Bank of Boston before she married her first husband Robert. She became a widow after only 3 years of marriage. Etta then used her key punch operator skills when she served her country in the U. S. Navy during WWII and she loved to tell stories of her adventures.
Etta lived in Uxbridge, MA over 30 years with her second husband Bror Fritz and they raised their family of two daughters here. Etta encouraged her family to continue the Swedish traditions Fritz brought with him from Sweden and enjoyed from childhood. There were many Swedish trinkets throughout the Swanson home.
Etta strongly encouraged her daughters to seek further education and her only regret was that she was not able to go to college as a young woman. She was employed as a baker for the Uxbridge School System for fifteen years, retiring in 1982. After her husband Fritz died, she moved to Laconia to be near her daughter’s family and helped to care for her grandchildren.
Etta was a member of the St. James Episcopal Church. She loved gardening and was a former member of the Opechee Garden Club. She loved the line dancing exercise classes she took through the Laconia Recreational Department at the Community Center and the many friends she made there. She became a great youth sports supporter as her grandsons and their many friends were very involved. She was a very caring person and always baked something special for a new neighbor, assisted elderly neighbors with rides to medical appointments or grocery shopping. Etta loved to shop and got wonderful bargains for her adored granddaughters in Florida. She made several trips to Florida to visit her family there and had wonderful experiences with all that Florida has to offer. She often organized neighborhood coffee hours among her senior set. When she became unable to walk due to severe back arthritis and was a resident at St. Francis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, the staff enjoyed her teasing them and her good nature. She could “dish it out and take it” as well. Her daughters and their families will miss her greatly.
Survivors include two daughters and sons-in-law, Karin and Bob Salome of Laconia and Darlene and Michael Schueler, of Clearwater, FL; four grandchildren who called her MÖR MÖR (which means mother’s mother in Swedish); Jeremy Salome, Lukas Salome, Tracy Schueler Bayne and Rebecca Schueler; three great grandchildren; two nieces and four nephews. In addition to her parents, Etta was predeceased by her first husband, Robert Codwise, in 1943 and by her second husband, Bror Fritz Swanson, in 1981 and by three sisters, Mable Creighton, Helen Langley and Edith Craigie, nephews Ross Craigie and Eric Swanson, and niece Barbara Swanson.
There will be no calling hours.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday April 14th, 2012 at 11:00AM at St. James Episcopal Church, 876 North Main Street, Laconia, N.H. Rev. Tobias Nyatsambo, Rector of the St. James Church, will officiate.
Burial will be in the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, Boscawen, N.H.on Monday, April 16, 2012 at 11:00AM.
For those who wish, the family suggests that memorial donations be made to the St. James Episcopal Church scholarship fund, 867 No. Main Street, Laconia, N.H. 03246, St. Francis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center – Activities Fund, 406 Court Street, Laconia, N.H. 03246 or to Womens Vets assist at web site: http://www.blueridgelogcabins.com/extreme/get_involved.php and donate a log to build homes for returning female veterans.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.