VI Swanson

1925 - 2017

Vi Swanson
1925 - 2017
Vi (Viola) Swanson, of Boise, Idaho, (recently of Camarillo, California), passed into heaven on Thursday, December 21, 2017. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 11 AM at Grace Bible Church, 4262 N. Eagle Road, Boise, Idaho.
Born on a farm in Fallon, Montana on September 25, 1925, Vi grew up during the Depression. Attending Yale School until the sixth grade, she moved with her family to Glendive, Montana, where her father was a carpenter. After graduating from Dawson County High School, she married Kenneth W. Swanson of Glendive on May 26, 1944, at Zion Lutheran Church. When Ken returned from WWII, they ran the "White Swan Drive-in" in Glendive. They then moved to Billings, Montana, where Ken became an insurance salesman while Vi was a stay-at-home mom to their three children, David, Claudia, and Lisa. Settling in Boise in the early '60's, Vi began to work as a telephone operator at the Bon Marche and continued in this career until her retirement from Hewlett-Packard. In 2013, she relocated to Camarillo, California to live with Claudia.
Vi loved attending Bible study, ushering at the Morrison Center, painting, sewing, baking, shopping (for good deals), eating chocolate, going to the movies, and spending time with her grandchildren. She also loved to travel, flying to Paris three times to visit Lisa and her family. Having a quick wit and lots of advice, she counted herself blessed to have many friends and family! She was always young at heart, never telling her age!
Vi is survived by her daughters Claudia Souser of Camarillo, CA; Lisa and husband Chris Herbert of Miami, FL; and daughter-in-law, Arlene Swanson of Boise, ID, as well as many nieces and nephews. Vi was the loving grandmother of Brittany and Justin Swanson of Boise; Kelsey, Zachary, and Mackenzie Souser of Camarillo; Joshua, William, and Mary Herbert of Miami; and great-grandmother of Zuri Swanson of Boise.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Lydia (Mittelstaedt) Siegle of Glendive, MT; siblings Clara Winkler and Walter Siegle of Missoula, MT, Harold Siegle of Cody, WY, and Nora Amster of Glenview, IL; husband Kenneth Swanson and son David Swanson (attorney) of Boise, ID; and son-in-law, Doyle Souser, (CPA) of Camarillo, CA.
Vi was a member of Grace Bible Church of Boise, ID for many years and recently attended Camarillo Community Church and Community Bible Study with Claudia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Grace Bible Church, 4262 N. Eagle Rd., Boise, ID 83713