Martha Swearingen

Martha Franks Swearingen, 81, of Brownsville, went to be with her Lord on Monday, March 31, 2008. She was born December 5, 1926, in Brownsville, a daughter of the late Walter and Nellie Riddle Franks. Martha was a member of Grace United Methodist Church and the Brownsville Garden Club. She attended Douglas Business School after graduation and was employed by the Federal Reserve Bank during the World War II. Martha and her husband, Walter Swearingen, who passed away September 22, 2004, celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary that same year. She enjoyed gardening, painting the wooden projects created by her husband, as well as tole painting. She had an avid interest in politics, enjoyed reading and was an enthusiastic antique collector. We are comforted in knowing: "God looked around his garden, and He found an empty place. He then looked down upon this earth and saw your tired face. He put his arms around you and lifted you to rest. God's garden must be beautiful, He only takes the best. He saw the road was getting rough and the hills were hard to climb, so He closed your weary eyelids and whispered 'Peace be Thine'. It breaks our hearts to lose you but you did not go alone, for part of us went with you the day God called you home". Martha will be sadly missed by her daughters and sons-in-law, Pamela and Joseph Rizzo, of Springfield, Va., and Candace and Jack McConnell, of Elizabeth; three grandchildren, Amy (Jason) Cole, Saratoga, Calif., Carrie (Mike) Rizzo, of Woodbridge, Va., and Chad McConnell, of Elizabeth; two sisters, Marjorie Ryan and Connie McClelland, both of Brownsville; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two sisters, Lucinda Feeney and Jody Gordon; and one brother, Abe Franks. Friends will be received Thursday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. and Friday, April 4, from 10 to 11 a.m., in the ED MELENYZER FUNERAL HOMES INC., Roscoe, where a funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m. with Pastor Randy Landerman of Grace United Methodist Church officiating. Interment will follow in Lafayette Memorial Park, Brier Hill.