Joanne Taylor "Jo JoJo" Swift

Joanne Taylor Swift (known to most as "Jo", but re-monikered "JoJo" by her grandson) passed away at age 87 on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2025 in her beloved Sandy Point home overlooking the Penobscot Bay in Stockton Springs, Maine. She was able to remain in her home in the loving care of her family as she'd wished, thanks to the aid and support of Hospice. She was predeceased one week earlier by her much-loved husband of 66 years, Calvin T Swift on his 88th birthday. Her family believes she died of a broken heart.
Jo and her surviving identical twin, Sue, were born on April 30, 1937 in Bangor, Maine-neither could ever remember who was the older of the two. The twins were born to Donald Rowe Taylor and Rubye Grace (McKean) Taylor. The "Taylor Twins" attended Bucksport High School from which Jo graduated salutatorian. They were in the marching band with Jo on the bass drum and Sue on the cymbals.
Jo attended Simmons College in Boston and graduated with a BS in Home Economics with a focus on textile technology. Jo's first job after graduation was working as a junior research assistant at the Fabric Research Laboratories, running durability tests on the new invention called, Velcro. She used an Instron machine to repetitively open and close the Velcro strips.
During her college years, she met Calvin Thomas Swift (known as Swifty to her) on a blind date. He picked her up for their date in a borrowed 1955 turquoise Thunderbird; unbeknownst to him, turquoise was her favorite color. The two were married on September 5, 1959 at the Elm Street Congregational Church in Bucksport, Maine, had their reception at the Hersey Retreat in Sandy Point, and then honeymooned in the Sandy Point Beach Cottage.
After their honeymoon, the couple flew to California where Swifty was working at NAA (North American Aviation). There, they purchased their first car-a turquoise 1955 T-bird. During this time, Jo worked as a phlebotomist/lab assistant in a doctor's office until the birth of their first daughter, Pam, in 1961. Because the T-bird was only a two-seater, the family, sadly, had to trade it in for a more "practical" car.
The young family moved back to the east coast when Swifty began working at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in Virginia. The couple built their first home in Newport News, VA in 1965, then welcomed their second daughter, Jan, in 1967. During this time, Jo and her husband joined an amateur archeological group and participated in a dig of the birthplace of George Wythe. It was here that Jo found the second oldest coin ever excavated in the United States, a 1585 half sixpence.
Jo and her family spent the year of 1977 in Boulder, CO when Swifty took a sabbatical year researching wave propagation at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). They were happy to spend that year living near Jo's identical twin sister and her family.
For their 20th wedding anniversary, Swifty presented Jo with a goldenrod yellow 1955 T-bird (he couldn't find a turquoise one). They joined the Thunderbird Club, had the car restored, and won several prizes in car shows. One of Jo's favorite memories was being one of the club members to chauffeur the Thunderbird pilots across the tarmac to their jets at an air show.
In 1981, Jo and her husband moved to Amherst, MA for Swifty's new job as a professor at UMASS (University of Massachusetts). Because she was not working outside the home and no longer had small children, she initially found it difficult to find a new social network. After becoming active in the community, however, she made several dear friends. Jo remained active in the Garden Club (president), school tutoring program (co-director), University Women of UMASS, Amherst Women's Club, Hiking Group, and the Pioneer Valley Quilt Guild. It was during these years that Jo took up watercolor painting and honed her skills.
As was the custom of the times, Jo was a full-time housewife. Later in life, she confessed that she wished she'd had more career options during her lifetime. She said her only choices were: secretary, nurse, teacher, or housewife. She made it her life goal to instill in her daughters the belief that they could be anything they wanted when they grew up. She was wildly successful in this endeavor by becoming a mother to an obstetrician/gynecologist and an optometrist. Although Jo was a life-long housewife, she was the most radical feminist her daughters ever knew. She even knit pink hats for her daughters and niece, Maggie, to wear at the Women's March in Washington D.C. in 2017.
Jo and her husband traveled the world. Jo swam in the Dead Sea, soaked in the Baths in Budapest, waded in the Loch Ness, snorkeled in the Virgin Islands, and sailed through the Panama Canal. She cruised down the Seine in Paris, rode in a gondola in Venice, witnessed glaciers calve in Alaska, sailed on a glass bottom boat in Bonaire, dined at the head table at a yacht club in Helsinki Harbor, and ate raw sea urchins on the beach in Hawaii.
Jo rode a camel by the pyramids, danced under a full moon on a rooftop in Florence, climbed to the top of Masada in Israel, toured tulip gardens in Holland, fed cats in the Forum in Rome, watched cliff-divers in Acapulco, visited the Parthenon in Greece, ate hotdogs at the top of the Eiffel Tower, saw red-robed Cardinals amassed at St. Peter's in the Vatican, watched an Apollo rocket lift off at Cape Canaveral at night, saw the Crown jewels in England, and visited the McKean Clan castle on the Isle of Skye.
After Jo's parents passed away, she and Swifty spent summers at Sandy Point, Maine in the cottage her grandfather built on Penobscot Bay circa 1920. As the couple's Amherst friends began to pass away or move to be closer to their own children, they decided to move to Sandy Point fulltime. Here, their social life flourished. She was surrounded by friends and neighbors she'd known and loved her whole life.
Jo was involved with the Stockton Springs Historical Society, the Bucksport Garden Club, the painting group she created at the Stockton Springs Community Library, the Sandy Point Water Company, and the Sandy Point Land Trust.
Jo's life was rich and full of joy because she took great pleasure in the small things, not just the big. She recorded some of her favorite memories: as a child-digging clams in the mudflats, feeding cheese to baby mice in a crevasse behind the garage. and riding on the bow of her father's boat, the HooDoo. Later in life she relished in kayaking alongside seals and porpoises in the Penobscot, having a chipmunk eat seeds from her hand, seeing the Northern Lights, watching lightening bugs flash, witnessing the dawn of a new millennium from atop the boathouse, catching six mackerel at once off Fort Point, and boat rides to McGlathery Island. She especially loved watching ships travel up and down the river, ospreys fishing, icebergs floating down river, and the full moon rising over the Penobscot. Her most precious memory, however, was witnessing the births of both of her grandchildren, Ben and Maggie.
And there were always the dogs. Jo so loved her dogs. They never stay in our lives long enough, but she never shied away from sharing her heart with a new dog. When she had to get a pacemaker, she wanted her daughters to come stay with her-not to take care of her postoperatively, but to help care for and train a brand-new golden retriever puppy. Toward the end of her life, she remarked that she'd had a dog for every decade she'd lived. Gone, but not forgotten, are Bos'n 1 and Bos'n 2, Sassy, Frosty, Amber, Brandy, Cookie, Sandy, Ginger, and in her last few weeks, Rusty-the ridiculously adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who brought a smile to all of our faces daily as we navigated the depths of despair and heartbreak.
Jo's last written instructions were, "Remember that I've had a wonderful life, partly because I've loved you all."
Jo was predeceased by:
Her husband, Calvin Thomas Swift (known as "Cal" to most, "Swifty" to those close, and forever as "Daddy" to his daughters);
Her father, Donald Rowe Taylor (known as "Daddy Don" to his grandchildren);
Her mother Rubye Grace (McKean) Taylor (known as "Munnie" by the Swift grandchildren and "Munnin" by the Hicks grandchildren); and
Her niece Shelly Swift.
Jo is survived by:
Her eldest daughter, Pamela Jo Swift, "Pam" (to whom she will always be remembered as "Momma") and son-in-law, Donald V. Salvatore, "Don" (who Jo said if she'd had a son, she'd have wanted her baby to be just like him);
Her youngest daughter, Janet Swift Rand, "Jan" (to whom she will also always be known as "Mama", just spelled differently);
Her grandson, Benjamin Taylor Rand, "Ben", (who gave her the nickname "JoJo", which was then rapidly adopted by all), and granddaughter, Maggie Grace Rand (who inherited her incredible artistic talent);
Her identical (mirror) twin sister, Suzanne Taylor Hicks "Sue" (husband Robert Hicks "Bob");
Her nieces and nephews, Brad Hicks (wife Kara), Gary Hicks (wife Carrie Jo), Cindy Swift, Steve Swift (wife Susan), and Mike Swift; and
Several beloved grand nieces and nephews.
Jo's wishes were for her ashes to be spread on the Sandy Point beach to become a part of her favorite place, below the high tide line so as to be in no particular place, but part of the whole. Her ashes will intermingle with those of loved ones who've gone before. She and Swifty also requested a Celebration of Life which the family will host on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at 2pm at their Sandy Point home. If you would like more information about the arrangements, please email Pam at pjoswift@gmail.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to any of the following:
Planned Parenthood at www.secure.reproductiverights.org,
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at www.cff.org,
Gentiva Foundation (Hospice) at www.gentivahs.com, or
Stockton Springs Community Library at 6 Station Street, Stockton Springs, ME 04981.