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Obituaries

Services for Edith Louise "Edie" Swearngin, 91, Lawrence, will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Westside Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in Sharon Cemetery in Drexel, Mo.Mrs. Swearngin died Sunday, May 4, 2008, at Baldwin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Baldwin City.She was born Jan. 19, 1917, in Okmulgee, Okla., the daughter of Clarence William and Maud Mae Watson Riley. She attended Kansas State Teachers College, now Pittsburg State University, and the University of Texas.Mrs. Swearngin was a member of Westside Presbyterian Church, where she was active in the Lydia Circle, and Mariner's Club in Pittsburg, Prairie Village and Bartlesville, Okla. She was also an active member of the Ladies of the Oriental Shrine of Tucson, Ariz. She wrote poetry, prose, her memoirs and essays about life in the 1930s and 1940s.She married W. Leonard Swearngin in 1937. They shared 51 years of marriage. He died in 1988. Mrs. Swearngin was also preceded in death by a brother, Bob Riley; a sister, Mary Frances Pyle; and a son-in-law, Wally McBride.Survivors include three daughters, Susanna Edith Griffin, Midland, Texas, Sherry Marie McBride, Lawrence, and Kristie Lee Swearngin, Overland Park; a son, John William Swearngin and wife Sherry Ilene, Fort Myers, Fla.; two brothers, James Riley, Marshall, Mo., and Gene Riley, Okmulgee, Okla.; a sister, Elsie Fairlie, Tulsa, Okla.; 12 grandchildren, Lisa, Sheri, Leslie, Eric, Chip, Michelle, Matt, Kurt, Stacia, Mike, Amy and Colby; and 20 great-grandchildren, Ashlee, Jacob, Dylan, McKenzie, Delainie, Gunnar, Gaby, Brandon, Broc, Britanny, Mason, Morgan, Jacob, Emma, Zachary, Ryan, Charlie, Patrick, Alex and Madi. Friends may call from noon to 9 p.m. today at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, where the family will receive them from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. today.The family suggests memorials to Baldwin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center or Westside Presbyterian Church, sent in care of the funeral home.Online condolences may be sent at <a href="http://www.rumsey-yost.com">www.rumsey-yost.com</a>.