On May 22, 2025, Jean Swift,102, passed peacefully at her home in Susanville, California.
Jean was born Kathryn Jean Ohmert to the parents of Loren and Kathryn Ohmert on February 1, 2023. She was the oldest of three siblings, her sister Lila Ruth Ohmert Lowe and brother John (Jack) Ohmert having predeceased her.
She was married for almost 54 years to Bert Swift, from August 16,1944 until his passing in 1998, and was the mother of their three surviving children, Patricia (Pat) Swift Civiletti, Michael Swift and Janet Swift Fusano. She was the grandmother of John Civiletti, Kelli Koski Schleif and Scott Koski, great-grandmother to Kaylene Koski, great-great-grandmother to Sandra and Maddie, and aunt to Jacquelyn Lowe Dorsa, David Lowe and to their children and grandchildren.
Jean was a woman who demonstrated extraordinary will, having lived through childhood divorce and family separation, the Great Depression and World War II, yet never let her past deter from achieving whatever goals she would set for herself. Inspired by her aunt, an elementary school teacher, she set her career goals to follow suit. After working her way through the first two years of college, her college plans were delayed several years but eventually resumed those studies and taught her first class in 1955. In teaching, she found great happiness and fulfillment.
She had many talents and interests, and was a master at handmade crafts, especially in dressmaking, doll and doll wardrobe-making, and crochet, and fine needle arts. In her later years she added card making and scrapbooking, creating memory books for her social organizations. She loved music and dance, and never outgrew her love for the Great Band Era. She spent many years square dancing, often made her own costumes, and also bowled for many years. She was a member of several social organizations, among them Beta Sigma Phi, and The Native Daughters of the Golden West, and added the Monticola Club and PEO after her move to Susanville.
Jean loved to travel, most significantly to regions within the United States, especially Alaska and Hawaii. The move to Susanville provided many new experiences, including new travel companions, and a renewed zest for life.
In honor of her memory, close friends have organized an informal potluck gathering on Friday, September 5, between 11 and 1:00 p.m. at the local Senior Center at 1700 Sunkist Drive, Susanville.
