Mrs. JIM (Jane A. Richard) SWENSON 1961-2003

HOHNECKER, RICHARD, SWENSON, WODARZ, URBANSKI, BODINE, MAKWINJA

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 9/1/2003 at 20:49:26

Jane A. Swenson

Telegraph Herald - Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Jane A. Swenson, 42, of 598 Napier St., died Monday, July 14, 2003, at Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Anthony's Catholic Church. Burial will be in Mount Calvary Cemetery. Friends may call from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Westview Funeral Home, 2659 Kennedy Road, where there will be a wake service at 8:30 p.m.

She was born on July 14, 1961, in Dubuque, daughter of John and Joan (Hohnecker) Richard. She married Jim Swenson on May 24, 1986, in Kieler, Wis.

She graduated from Wahlert High School, Dubuque, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and owned Veil Creations for the past 10 years.

Everyone who knew Jane was touched by her selflessness. She always thought of others before herself - even when she was under the weather. Jane was the subject of many of her husband's Telegraph Herald Lifestyle columns. Her courage, caring, thoughtfulness and kindness were an inspiration to people well beyond her circle of friends and relatives. Jane always - always - thought of others ahead of herself. If she wasn't making Easter bunny cakes for her son's teachers, she was remembering everyone's birthdays. She taught her once selfish husband the true meaning of the Golden Rule - not by word, but by deed.

She raised two wonderful sons by working at home. Jane's heart touched people of all ages, including the unborn, as she was an active pro-life advocate. But most of all, she was a true inspiration, especially the past 2½ years as she battled breast cancer and its recurrence. With a determination few of us could even imagine, she did everything her body and soul could handle to win the battle - all in order to see her two sons graduate. And, because her final agonizing decision was to try a nutritional supplement plan that gave her hope over traditional medical treatments, she thought she was winning the battle to the very end, which soothed her family's hearts. So typical of Jane, she thought of others ahead of herself, even on the day she died, which happened to be her birthday. Jane knew her husband never could remember important family dates. Never again, in her honor, will he forget.

Surviving are her husband, Jim Swenson, of Dubuque; two sons, Jay and Shawn Swenson, of Dubuque; her parents, John and Joan Richard, of Kieler; a brother, Jay (Paula) Richard, of Kieler; four sisters, Julie (Wayne) Wodarz, of Platteville, Jaclyn (Steve) Urbanski, of Round Lake Beach, Ill., Jolene (Mike) Bodine, of Evanston, Ill., and Janis (Emmanuel) Makwinja, of Belvidere, Ill.; her maternal grandmother, Coletta Hohnecker, of Dubuque; her mother-in-law, Edith Swenson, of Stoughton, Wis.; and many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Ed and Alice Richard; her maternal grandfather, Gilford Hohnecker; a brother, Paul Richard; and her father-in-law, Lee Swenson.

A Jane Swenson Memorial Fund has been established for the education of her children.