Wanda McSwain

MCSWAIN, Wanda

1936 - 2024. Wanda McSwain passed peacefully at her Durham, NC, home on March 1, 2024. She was preceded in death by her husband, Mal (d. September 29, 2022).

Wanda Jean Farley was born and raised in Zion, Illinois. At Wheaton College she joined the Young Life movement, and after graduation she attended the Young Life Institute in Colorado Springs. There Wanda met the man who would be her lifelong partner. For almost 65 years of marriage, Mal and Wanda were an extraordinary team of love and ministry that modeled faithful friendship with Christ and others. Thousands were impacted by their "ministry of accompaniment," especially in Charlotte and in Atlanta, where they lived for 50 years before moving to Durham in 2016.

Wanda had a unique ability to engage with all kinds of people at intimate and soulful levels. Her prayerful intuition, coupled with a keen listening ear, was renowned. Wanda lived in constant amazement at the Lord's works of grace in her life and in the lives of others. Most noteworthy was Wanda's tender, unconditional love of her two children and seven grandchildren, in whom she instilled a deep appreciation for the beauty and grandeur of God's creation. To them, "Mimi" will always be the president of what she coined God's Beautiful World Club. After suffering Mal's death, Wanda continued to draw from her deep well of God's Spirit to pour forth hospitality, prayer, and compassion on anyone with whom she crossed paths in and out of her apartment. Her last words reflected one of her most steadfast values of faith, "I'm so thankful."

A celebration of Wanda's life will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 1 PM, at The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Shelby, NC. In lieu of flowers, Wanda requested that all tax-deductible gifts should be directed to her passion project, "The Glen." Contributions may be written to Experience Reality, 309 Northwood Circle, Durham, NC, 27701 or made online at experiencereality.org.