May-Brit Swanback

MAY-BRIT SWANBACK OF OXFORD, MS May-Brit "Kay" Swanback passed away on January 27, 2013 at the age of 81 in Oxford, MS. Ms. Swanback was born in Hartford, CT to the late agronomist, Dr. Tore Robert Swanback and artist, Mrs. Hannah Maria "Maja" (Andersson) Swanback. She graduated from Windsor High School in 1950 and received her B.F.A. in Fashion Design from Pratt Institute in 1955, where she was a member of Gamma Pi Delta and met her former husband Walter Binelli and had four children, Raymond, Deborah, Robert and Karin. She began her career working in the fashion / garment district (5th Avenue) of New York City, first as a glove designer for Grandoe Gloves, and then an Assistant Fashion Designer for Coats & Clark Thread Company. She would reminisce of rubbing elbows with celebrities such as Doris Day, during that time. Later she found her true calling in health foods from 1966 to 1987 as the proprietor of Kay's Health Foods in Pottstown, PA. She was also a member of Vasa Order of America (Swedish-American fraternal society) and was fluent in Swedish. She retired and pursued various jobs from kitchen and bath design, to designing and making life-like teddy bears from memorable materials for her clients. She had a real passion for creativity and loved to sew, draw, and make crafts. She is survived by her son, Raymond Binelli, and daughter-in-law, Fran Binelli, and grandson, John; daughter, Deborah Binelli Lane, and son-in-law, Douglas Lane, and grandson, Zachary; son, Robert Binelli and partner, Karen Rohrbach, and granddaughter, Alissa, and great granddaughters, Kaylee and Giulianna; and daughter, Karin Lucier, and son-in-law, Scott Lucier, and grandsons, Maxwell and Rockwell. She is also survived by her sister, Barbara Eddy, and brother-in-law, Spencer Eddy; nieces, Kirsten Forwood, Karin Eddy (predeceased), Martha West and Barbara Margosiak, and their families. A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, February 16, 2013, at 10 a.m. at Saint Aloysius Church, 223 Beech Street, Pottstown, PA. Memorial lunch will follow the Mass. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation or Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Condolences may be e-mailed to in_memory_of_maybrit_swanback@yahoo.com.