Carolyn Wilda McCurdy Swalling

1934 - 2022

Carolyn Wilda McCurdy Swalling

Carolyn Wilda McCurdy Swalling passed peacefully on January 22, 2022, in Oro Valley, Arizona. Carolyn was born in Lewistown, Montana, on December 11, 1934, to the marriage of Esther Wilda Zumwalt and Edward Belmont McCurdy. The family initially lived in Coffee Creek, Montana, and later moved to East Glacier, Montana, where Carolyn's parents taught at the Browning Boarding School on the Blackfeet Reservation. The family then moved to Charlo, Montana, where she remained, eventually graduating from Charlo High School in 1952. Carolyn subsequently attended Western Montana College in Dillon where she attained her teaching certification.

During her formative years in Charlo, Carolyn met the love of her life, Bruce Swalling. They were married in the Methodist Church in Charlo, Montana, on June 6, 1954. During the summer of 1963 they moved to the family ranch and started Swalling Livestock. In addition to managing their business, Carolyn substitute taught, worked at the Charlo Paint and Glass, the Charlo Post Office and Western Montana Seed House.

A very giving person, Carolyn served as a school room mother, was a member of the PTA, was a 4-H Leader, volunteered to shuttle children back and forth to various sporting events, was a member of the Mountain Bluebird Trails, volunteered on the Lake County Council on Aging, was a member of the Charlo Senior Center and a member of the Western Montana National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Kuilix Chapter. She took pride in participating in the U.S. Nationalization Ceremonies in Missoula. Skilled in sewing and crocheting, she made numerous lapgans that were distributed to disabled Veterans. She also had a green thumb and canned various fruits and vegetables. Carolyn enjoyed nature and had a special place in her heart for Glacier National Park.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her beloved husband, Bruce, her brothers, William (Bill) McCurdy (Nadine), and Keith McCurdy (Myrtle), her sister-in-law, Anita Mae Swalling Howell (Ted), and her brother-in-law, Allen Wayne Swalling (Dolores). She is survived by her daughter, Wilda Marie Swalling Sobansky (Joe) and her son, Wesley Bruce Swalling (Barbara), her grandchildren, Joseph Paul Sobansky, Stephen Bruce Sobansky, and Amanda Rochelle Swalling. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and grand nieces and nephews.

No services are planned at this time. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the Charlo Senior Center.