Swift. Frederick J.

SWIFT

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 10/2/2007 at 22:44:51

Maquoketa Sentinel-Press
September 15, 2007

Dr. Frederick ‘Jim’ Swift

Dr. Frederick James “Jim” Swift, 92, of Gainesville, Fla., and formerly of Maquoketa, died Monday, Sept. 10, 2007 at Haven Hospice in Gainesville.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Gainesville with the Rev. Jeff McGowan as celebrant.

Dr. Swift was born July 16, 1915 in Maquoketa to Blanche Campbell Swift and F. J. Swift Sr.

He graduated from Maquoketa High School and attended Maquoketa Junior College for one year.

He enrolled at Drake University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree. He attended the University of Iowa, where he received his medical degree.

He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha medical honorary society.

He interned at Augustana Hospital in Chicago and performed his residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Dr. Swift reached the rank of lieutenant colonel during active duty service in the U.S. Army, During World War II he was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and was a surgeon in the 35th Evacuation Hospital.

He was involved in the Normandy and Ardennes campaigns, landing at Omaha Beach and participating in the Battle of the Bulge.

He also served in the Iowa National Guard and was associated with the Gainesville Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Dr. Swift was a family practitioner and surgeon in Maquoketa for many years, delivering more than 5,000 babies.

He opened a practice in Maquoketa in 1946. He left Maquoketa to complete his residency and returned in 1947.

With no hospital in Maquoketa at the time, he operated his own hospital at South Clark and East Judson streets.

In 1957 he moved into a new clinic building he constructed at 611 W. Quarry St. He practiced there until 1970, when he sold the clinic and he and his wife moved to Gainesville.

While in Maquoketa, Dr. Swift donated a portion of a farm he owned to the City of Maquoketa for an airport, which remains the site of Maquoketa Municipal Airport.

He also donated the house at 607 W. Summit Street to the Maquoketa Community School District. The district remodeled the house and for many years it housed the district’s administrative offices and was the Maquoketa community School Board’s meeting location.

When he moved to Gainesville, he practiced at the Veterans Affairs Hospital and was a volunteer at the Civilian Blood Bank.

He also was a private pilot and an accomplished ham radio operator.

He was a member of the Gainesville Golf and Country Club, Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Kiwanis, Retired Pilots Association, Funeral Consumers Alliance of North Central Florida and the American Radio Relay League.

Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Louise; one daughter, Nancy (Mrs. David) Chapman of Fort Worth, Texas; one son, Aaron Green of Salem, Mass.; One granddaughter and three sisters, Regina Sagers of Maquoketa, Anna Mary (Mrs. Dean) DeWitt of Jamesville, N.Y. and Susanne Navin of Elkridge, Md.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of Jackson County, 700 W. Grove St., Maquoketa, Iowa 52060.

Arrangements are under the care of Williams-Thomas Funeral Home Downtown Gainesville.