Bernice Swisher

Feb 10, 1911 - Jan 25, 2017

Grandma Swisher was born in Webb City, Missouri. She married Ray Swisher on June 10, 1929. They had a daughter, Mary Joan Swisher. Grandma worked for Douglas Aircraft as a "Rosie Riveter" during WWII, after which she became a dedicated mother and homemaker. For years, she crocheted doilies, afghans, bed covers, and doll clothes; made numerous hook rungs; crafted scores of ceramics; stitched hundreds of quilts; and helped her grandsons on their paper routes. When Grandpa retired to Arkansas, Grandma became very active in her Church, teaching Sunday School and volunteering in women’s groups. She loved her Bible.

Grandpa died in 1988. Grandma moved in with her daughter in Lenexa, Kansas. After surviving breast cancer in 1991, she accumulated more than 20,000 volunteer hours with Shawnee Mission Medical Center by crocheting baby blankets for the injured young. At 81 she took her first motorcycle ride. At 89 she learned to play computer card games. At 103 she played garage tennis with a grandchild. At 105 she posed for pictures with her great-great-great-grandchildren just after she won a round of Jenga. The last words she whispered to a granddaughter were, "Take care of your husband. They don't last as long as we do."

Just short of 106 years old, Grandma Berniece Helen Fay Nethercutt Bump Swisher, peacefully passed away from complications due to a heart attack. She is buried next to her beloved husband this February 4, 2017 in Mountain View Cemetery, Hackett, Arkansas. She is survived by her daughter, M. Joan Pridham, and was matriarch over grandsons Larry Leeds, Michael Leeds, and Christopher Brumfield, along with 7-great-grandkids, 21-great-great-grandkids, and 10 great-great-great-grandkids.

Graveside services will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the Mountain View Cemetery, Hackett, Arkansas.