Marcia Faye Swanson Commins, 101, of Newport Beach, Calif., died at home of natural causes Dec. 27, 2025.
Born Nov. 19, 1924, in Long Beach, Calif., she was a daughter of the late Charles A. and Marie McCarty Swanson.
Marcia lived in many places during her lifetime, but some of her favorite childhood memories came from time spent with her sisters at the homes of Swanson relatives in Tekamah, Nebraska.
A 1942 graduate of Beverly Hills High School, Marcia attended UCLA for two years before transferring to UC Berkeley, where she studied business and graduated in 1946.
After college, she returned to Los Angeles, where she married, raised four sons, and embraced a quiet proactive life aimed toward helping others.
After moving to Brentwood in 1968, she volunteered as a reader for disabled veterans at the Veterans Administration in West Los Angeles. While residing in Palm Desert, she volunteered in the elementary school at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church and as a docent at the Living Desert.
She was also active at All Saints Beverly Hills Episcopal Church and at Brentwood Park Garden Club, where she made lifelong friends.
The door to her home was always open and popular among her sons' friends, who regularly showed up for Saturday morning pickup games at the family basketball court and sometimes claimed a couch or spare bedroom when needed.
She enjoyed gardening and reading biographies and history books, she could easily conquer the toughest New York Times crossword puzzles, and over the years she traveled to Antarctica, China and Tanzania.
Surviving Marcia are her sons: Stephen Keith, married to Sharon of Carlsbad, Calif., Gary Lee married to Jennifer Kehret of Long Beach, Calif., David Dean married to Susan Lindt of Harrisburg, Pa., and Neil Grant, with whom she resided in Newport Beach, Calif.; grandchildren, Melanie Commins of Carlsbad, Calif., Justin Commins of Los Angeles, Calif., Marcia Kavulich of Bristol, R.I., and Zachary Commins of Pasadena, Calif.
She was preceded in death by brothers Charles Edmund and Herbert, and sisters Patricia Swanson Miller and Rosemarie Swanson Goodbody. She was also preceded in death by her beloved Silky terrier, Wanderra.
Marcia's love and kindness will greatly be missed.
Born Nov. 19, 1924, in Long Beach, Calif., she was a daughter of the late Charles A. and Marie McCarty Swanson.
Marcia lived in many places during her lifetime, but some of her favorite childhood memories came from time spent with her sisters at the homes of Swanson relatives in Tekamah, Nebraska.
A 1942 graduate of Beverly Hills High School, Marcia attended UCLA for two years before transferring to UC Berkeley, where she studied business and graduated in 1946.
After college, she returned to Los Angeles, where she married, raised four sons, and embraced a quiet proactive life aimed toward helping others.
After moving to Brentwood in 1968, she volunteered as a reader for disabled veterans at the Veterans Administration in West Los Angeles. While residing in Palm Desert, she volunteered in the elementary school at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church and as a docent at the Living Desert.
She was also active at All Saints Beverly Hills Episcopal Church and at Brentwood Park Garden Club, where she made lifelong friends.
The door to her home was always open and popular among her sons' friends, who regularly showed up for Saturday morning pickup games at the family basketball court and sometimes claimed a couch or spare bedroom when needed.
She enjoyed gardening and reading biographies and history books, she could easily conquer the toughest New York Times crossword puzzles, and over the years she traveled to Antarctica, China and Tanzania.
Surviving Marcia are her sons: Stephen Keith, married to Sharon of Carlsbad, Calif., Gary Lee married to Jennifer Kehret of Long Beach, Calif., David Dean married to Susan Lindt of Harrisburg, Pa., and Neil Grant, with whom she resided in Newport Beach, Calif.; grandchildren, Melanie Commins of Carlsbad, Calif., Justin Commins of Los Angeles, Calif., Marcia Kavulich of Bristol, R.I., and Zachary Commins of Pasadena, Calif.
She was preceded in death by brothers Charles Edmund and Herbert, and sisters Patricia Swanson Miller and Rosemarie Swanson Goodbody. She was also preceded in death by her beloved Silky terrier, Wanderra.
Marcia's love and kindness will greatly be missed.
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