Constance Irey Swenson

Constance (Connie) Irey Swenson

MISSOULA, MT – 1934 to 2023, Constance (Connie) Irey Swenson, 89, of Missoula, MT, passed away Wednesday, June 7, 2023, suddenly but peacefully at St. Patrick Hospital in the company of family and friends. For anyone who knew Connie, she shared a bright and positive light, always focused on what was good and never noticed the negative. She lived and died as she had hoped; independently in every way, in her own beautifully maintained home with amazing flower gardens, walking every day with a big smile to share with anyone lucky enough to see her on her favorite walking route, playing with her grandkids who lived just several houses away and who simply adored Grammy, with all her wits about her until death, and without pain. She shared her completely unbeknownst last meal with one of her sons the day of her passing, where she was cheerful and happy as always and shared her hope that her many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will live in a world as wonderful as hers. She said her last goodbye with a big smile, a warm embrace, and a heartfelt I Love You. As Constance often said, she was appropriately named.

Connie was born in Streator, Illinois, on March 17, 1934, the eldest child of the late Rex Frantz Irey and Janet MacDowell (Burgett) Irey. Connie was raised in Monmouth, IL, a small, close-knit midwestern agricultural town and the home of Monmouth College. Her formative years included WWII and her father was stationed domestically away from home for extended periods. Connie had so many fond memories of being the big sister to her beloved siblings Anne, Roger, Kay, Burg, and Lynn, not the least of which was holding Kay by her suspenders after she fell from an upstairs window until their dad Rex, who Connie adored, could come to the rescue and pull Kay back inside. Connie went on to graduate from Monmouth College, a lifetime love of hers. There she was Homecoming Queen, May Fete Queen, and Track Queen. Connie was also on the "Monmouth Annie Oakleys" National Champion Rifle Team (May,1954). She did all this while enjoying dancing, winning beauty contests, and working 35-to-40 hours per week at Brown Lynch Scott and the Mayrath Company to help pay for college (typed 60 wpm on a manual typewriter). Connie was a lifetime member of Pi Beta Phi, founded at Monmouth College in 1867. Connie took pride in the fact that the birthplace of sororities in America was Monmouth College, where Kappa Kappa Gamma was formed three years after Pi Beta Phi, and they became known as the Monmouth Duo. Connie had a group of girlfriends from grade school through high school and college, with whom she maintained close contact in part through an unbroken chain of letters Connie referred to as a 'round robin,' shared and circulated between those same friends over more than six decades.

Immediately after graduating from college with a major in English and Education, having completed a practicum for teaching English, Connie trained for and became a Stewardess for United (Airlines). Connie graduated first in her United class, granting her the opportunity to choose any hub location and she chose Newark, NJ. She thrived at United and met many glamorous people until she was married in 1957. When Connie proudly worked for United, a woman could not remain employed once married. Connie was featured in articles throughout her life about her and her husband Jack's love of aviation and about her service in Clipped Wings.

Her choice of the Newark United hub led Connie to meet John (Jack) Stevens Swenson, the love of her life, on Labor Day 1956. They were married February 8, 1957, and remained inseparable and happily married for 52 years, until Jack's death on September 29, 2009. Connie remained loyal and adoring of Jack until the day she died, often recounting fondly the details of their first date and courtship, including ice skating and great friends. Connie and Jack had five children in seven years, two boys and three girls, all of whom they were so proud and adored: Laura Swenson-Ackerman (Bruce) of Stanhope, NJ, Chris Swenson-Nahrebne (Gary) of Washington, NJ, John Stevens Swenson (Teri) of Jacksonville, Alabama, Susan Janet Swenson (Joe) of Brooklyn, NY, and Thomas Rex Swenson (Holly) of Missoula, MT.

Jack and Connie founded Swenson Realty, a farm and land sales agency, serving New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, selling many thousands of acres of land throughout their career, including many dairy farms, corporate hunting retreats, and eventually some of their own land. Connie was quietly a licensed real estate agent for decades. Their agency allowed them to hike, fly, fish (Connie preferred to read voraciously and with effortless patience while Jack fly fished), play tennis, sunbathe, and spend extensive time with their children, including spending cherished summers on Rangeley Lake (Maine) about 500 miles from their home in Washington, New Jersey, while earning a living. Some of those long, family-soaked summers also included coast-to-coast trips in their small planes, visiting family in the Midwest and California, and friends and clients along the way that created a lifetime of memories. During this period Connie supported Jack in breeding and training the Dual Champion Brittany Spaniel named Faircrest Poyjet, winning best in field and show, as featured in the book The Brittany in America; along with raising many other champions.

In their golden years, Connie and Jack moved to Montana and spent much of their time in Missoula, Rollins, Stevensville, and the West Fork. Connie loved horseback riding, reading nearby while Jack fly fished the Bitterroot River often with their son John or Tom rowing, spending time on Flathead Lake with their sons, and flying with Tom. Later, after Jack's death, many giggles, squishes, sleepovers (ice cream), and storytelling with her grandkids, and more flying with Tom, Holly, and her grandkids.

About one year after Jack's death, Connie had an extended near-death experience after a Cat-Griz game, where her daughter-in-law Holly Swenson (Tom) saved her life with CPR, along with God's grace, granting Connie another 13 years of life to watch her grandchildren continue to be born and grow up. The story of Connie's near-death experience was so moving it was featured in St. Patrick's Hospital magazine as a cover story and was depicted on billboards and even murals on Missoula city buses.

Most of all Connie was a dedicated and devoted wife, mother, daughter, and sister; always making her family her priority.

Connie had eight grandchildren, Janine Ackerman-Fila (Matt), Ian Ackerman (Bonnie), Daniela Cleveland, Giovanna Balena (Marc), Hudson Swenson, Hamilton Swenson, Rangeley Swenson, and Lander Swenson. She is survived by all of her children, grandchildren, and by her siblings Anne (Dennis) Kohlmeyer, Kay (Cecil) Lovdahl, Burgett "John" (Jo) Irey, and Lynn Irey who got to speak with Connie lovingly as she was in the process of passing.

She is preceded in death by her parents Rex and Janet Irey, her husband Jack Swenson, and her brother Roger Irey.

Services were held in Hampton, NJ, on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at Musconetcong Valley Presbyterian Church, 142 Main Street, Hampton, NJ. Interment was at Musconetcong Valley Cemetery, Hampton, NJ.

Services have been entrusted to the Walter J. Meyers Funeral Home, Jenkintown, PA. Expressions of condolences can be made at www.MeyersFH.com