Paul Swift

HOUGHTON - Paul W. Swift, 97, a well-known resident of Houghton Avenue, passed away at home on Saturday, February 6, 2010, with family by his side. He was born June 10, 1912, in Houghton and lived on College Avenue in a home where the Robert Van Pelt Library now stands. He was raised in that home with his father, P.D. Swift, his aunt, Irma, and uncle, Leigh Swift, and their two girls, Mary and Ruth Swift. As a young boy, Paul spent many happy days with his father, Paul D. Swift. They went picnicking, canoeing, camping and hunting on the Baraga Plains and the Huron Mountains and fishing on the Sturgeon River. The first seven years of his education were at the J.A. Hubbell School where the University Branch of Wells Fargo Bank now stands. He graduated from Houghton High in 1929. He received his BS degree in 1933 from Michigan College of Mining and Technology (Michigan Tech) as a mechanical engineer. He went to Graduate School of Business in 1933-34 and Graduate School of Engineering in 1934-35 at Stanford University in California. His first period of employment was in San LeAndro, Calif. for the Caterpillar Tractor Co. After leaving California, he was hired as an industrial engineer at A.O. Smith Corp. in Milwaukee, Wis. He then moved to Gary, Ind. and worked for the Carnegie Steel Corp. and then Fred V. Gardner & Assoc. as a management consultant for both. On June 15, 1944, he was married to Marion (Clark) Swift until her passing in 1968. They raised three children, Jack, Gary and Marilyn. Paul married Virginia "Betty" Vairo Swift on October 7, 1971, until she passed away in 1999. They did extensive worldwide traveling together and enjoyed many friends and parties together. Returning to Houghton in July of 1946, Paul became partners in the family business, I.E. Swift Co., with his father and uncle, Paul D. Swift and H. Leigh Swift. They sold supplies and wire rope to the mines and lumbering industry in the Copper Country. In the ensuing years, Paul purchased the shares of I.E. Swift Co. In 1959, he turned the company into Swift V. & S. Hardware (now Swift True Value), when he joined 400 other retailers to become an owner of Cotter & Company of Chicago. After 54 years, the business was passed on to his son, Jack, in 2000. Paul was an active member of Portage Lake United Church. He was twice the president of Houghton Rotary Club, president of the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Retail Hardware Association, the Michigan Tech Alumni Association and the Miscowaubic Club. He was also a founding member of the Houghton County Historical Society. He served on the Board of Directors for many years at Detroit & Northern Savings & Loan. In 2002, he was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame. Also, at age 85, he shot a "hole in one" on the links at Portage Lake Golf Course. He could be seen weekly playing tennis at the Gates Tennis Center into his 90s. In 1956, the Houghton Rotary organized the first Boy Scout Troop in Houghton. Paul Swift was the first Scoutmaster for Troop 208 and served for eight years in that capacity. Paul loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter, fisherman and photographer. He went to deer camp in the Huron Mountains every year for 50 years. He later passed on the camp to his son, Gary, and Gary's friends. Those friends still hunt in the camp to this day. Many Sunday afternoons were spent on various streams and rivers fly fishing in the Copper Country. Paul also loved to ice fish on Keweenaw Bay and to fish out of his boat on the "Big Lake" in the summer. He loved being in the out doors all of his life. Into his 90s, Paul and his son, Jack, would go out every Sunday afternoon. They would walk, hike or just drive into the Huron Mountains or the Baraga Plains to photograph wildlife and just enjoy nature. Dad also loved Michigan Tech football and hockey. He went to almost all of the football games this past fall. Last year, they announced at a Tech hockey game that Paul Swift had been a continuous season ticket holder since 1946. Over the years, Paul loved to snowshoe and cross-country ski to "Dad's Log Cabin" on Lower Pt. Mills Rd. to cook his father's pancake recipe on the wood stove for many of his friends and family. In his younger working years, Paul spent many mornings with his friends at the former Nelson's Restaurant before work. In his later years, he spent his early mornings with friends at Armando's Restaurant discussing world affairs and the business of the Copper Country. Many people remember seeing him walking daily down Shelden Avenue to the bank and then to the Post Office. He did this until five years ago. Paul is survived by a son, John C. "Jack" Swift of Houghton; a daughter, Marilyn Swift and her husband, Timothy Halkola, of Hancock; Jack's daughter, Susan (Jay) Smith and their children, Ryan, Katelyn, Neil, Rachel and Emily of Virginia; Marilyn's daughter, Jessica Saari (Dan) Ogden and son, James Saari, of Hilton Head Island, S.C.; a great-granddaughter, Grace Saari; and great-grandson, Jackson Ogden. He is also survived by his very dear close cousin, Ruth (Swift) Campbell, of Lower Pt. Mills Rd., Dollar Bay and Winterhaven, Fla. and her children, Lee (Bob) Thompson, Alex (Gloria) Campbell, Mary (Robert) Lopez, and David (Debbie) Campbell; three nephews, Paul (Sharon) Werther, Bill (Michelle) Werther and Jim Werther, sons of cousin, Mary (Swift) Werther; and numerous grand nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Edith (Wright) Swift, when Paul was four years old; his father, Paul D. Swift, in 1955. He lost his first wife, Marion (Clark) Swift, of Ogden, Utah in 1968; uncle, Leigh Swift, in 1975; aunt, Irma Swift, in 1983; a son, Gary Paul Swift, in 1991; Gary's wife, Sheryl (Wenburg), in 1990; Paul's second wife, Betty (Vairo) Swift, of Calumet in 1999; and close cousin, Mary (Swift) Werther, in 2000; her husband, Francis Raywood "Duke" Werther, in 1997; and niece, Pat Werther, in 2010. Paul will be missed by everyone that loved and knew him. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, cousin and uncle. He was a wonderful example of a community leader and businessman. Memorials may be made to Portage Lake United Church or to a charity of your choice. The visitation will be Friday, February 12th, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Plowe Funeral Home. The funeral service will be Saturday at Portage lake United Church in Houghton at 11 a.m. with Pastors Cindy Method and Phil Nancarrow to officiate. A burial will take place at the Swift Family Plot at Forest Hill Cemetery in the spring.