Sadly, on July 12th, my last living grandparent passed away. Below is her obituary:
Frances Hannah Swales, 100, passed Thursday, July 12, 2012 under the care of Woodland Hills Care Center, Lawrenceburg where she had been a resident since 2005. She was born December 7, 1911, at home on Mt. Pleasant Road, Lawrenceburg to Asa and Harriet Smith. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Swales and daughter, Martha Ann Guard. She is survived by son, Bill Swales and wife Diana, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Five grandchildren: Patricia Guard, Meridian, ID; Michael Guard (Carol) Cincinnati; David Guard (Sandy) Cincinnati; Colleen Bailey (Todd) Natick, MA; and Cory Swales (Brianna) Gainesville, FL; 6 great-grandchildren and many loving nieces and nephews. Frances enjoyed watching the Cincinnati Reds as well as local college basketball games. She also liked to crochet, knit, and quilt. She worked at the Lawrenceburg Public Library and served Miller and York Townships with a mobile library book route. The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to the staff of Woodland Hills for their kindness and care she received.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The ALS Association, 1275 K Street NW - Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20005.
I am terribly sad that she is gone, but I know she's in a better place. No more pain, or loneliness.
I took a few pictures during my brief time in Indiana. I went alone, as Todd stayed home with the kids. Cory, Brie and I stayed together, and we stopped off at East Fork Cemetery in Lawrenceburg.
Many of our distant relatives are buried here, including John and Ann Ewbank, who are considered the "founders" of our family in America. They came over from Yorkshire in the 1700s and settled in Dearborn County. Below is a picture of their graves.
On our way to the funeral home, I snapped this picture of an unimposing brick building along Mount Pleasant Road. My grandmother went to school here when she was young.
We snapped a bunch of family photos on the front porch of my grandparents home. This is probably the last time I will ever see this home, so it was nice that we all got to spend some time here. Some interesting history about this home- it was purchased by my grandparents out of a Sears-Roebuck catalog! I did some research, and I think it was the "Crafton" home (model 3318C) from the 1933-1940 era. The front porch is a little different, however, this was not the original location of the home. We also have to keep in mind that my dad's back bedroom was an add on, as there used to be a large porch back there. It also shares a lot of similarities to the "Winona" model from 1927-1932, although the area around the front door is different on the inside. It was at one time across the street, and they rolled it over on logs to its current location. I can't remember the exact reason why, but I want to say it has something to do with wanting a basement. Behind this house (in it's current location), my grandparents owned 54 acres of land.
We'll miss you Grandma! But we'll see you again someday!
