Mary Josephine Swank, born on May 4th, 1941, departed from this world on April 4th, 2024. She was born and raised in the one stoplight town of Monticello, Kentucky where she attended the First Baptist Church of Monticello. Mary Jo was the daughter of Oregon Bert Greer and Stanley Duncan Daugherty, and little sister to Stanley Roberts Daugherty and big sister to John Fox Dougherty.
Mary Jo was a determined young lady who longed to see what was outside of her small town. She met and married William L. Swank and became Catholic and they traveled to Nevada where he ran a food catering business. She had one child, a son William Lawson Swank II. In 1962 she moved to Louisville, Kentucky where she raised her son and began working at Louisville Hearing Aid Center. Where she ultimately became general manager and ran the business for several years. Mary Jo had a strong faith and became a member of Saint Agnes parish where she sent young William to school. While raising her son and working with the hearing impaired, she also became quite passionate for her Catholic faith. She insisted that young William be educated by the Xavierian Brothers at Saint Xavier high school and sacrificed to ensure this goal. After his graduation she started her own business Swank Hearing Systems. Swank Hearing Systems flourished for many years and during that time she cared for and donated her time and equipment to help the Sisters of Charity and other Convents in the area. She also helped treat and finance the care for many children and less fortunate patients with hearing impairment.
During her tenure as proprietor of Swank Hearing systems she traveled the World including Greece, Australia, China, New Zealand and many other nations to learn different techniques to help those that could not hear. She retired from Swank Hearing Systems only to care for her husband who was fighting cancer. Upon her husband's passing, she moved to Roswell, Georgia in 2002 to be near her family and grandchildren: Katie, Kristin, Will and Paige Swank. She stayed within miles of her family and became an active member at Saint Peter Chanel Catholic Church, where she was nicknamed “the Great one” because of her boasting about her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was very active in North Fulton Charities, Meals on Wheels, and the Bereavement Ministries at Saint Peter Chanel. She was also active in the Forever Young Ministry, and a weekly participant with her Sterling Crossville community women’s poker group, where she enjoyed competition and camaraderie.
Mary was proud of her Irish heritage. She loved to host big family dinners, and she loved to spend time with her brothers and their children and grandchildren. She was often found playing solitaire on her computer or reading a novel with her dog by her side.
Mary Jo passed peacefully on the morning of April 4, 2024 with her son Bill by her side. She leaves behind her devoted Son William Lawson Swank II and his Wife Colleen Kelly Swank; their children, Kathryn Elizabeth Swank, Kristin Swank Nigro and her husband Joseph Nigro and their children Peyton, Reagan, and Austin Nigro; William Lawson Swank III and his wife Anna Garrett Swank and their son William Lawson Swank IV; Paige Swank Ferguson and her husband Anderson Drew Ferguson V, and their daughter Ellie Ferguson; Her brother John Fox Daugherty and his wife Maureen Daugherty; her nieces and nephews Jennifer Daugherty, John Fox Daugherty II, Rob Daugherty, Angela Fogel, Ryan Daugherty, Lisa Novak, and Shawn Daugherty and their families. She was predeceased by her husband William L. Swank, her father Stanley Duncan Daugherty, her mother Oregon Bert Daugherty, and her brother Stanley Roberts Daugherty.
A visitation for Mary will be held Sunday, April 7, 2024 from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM at Roswell Funeral Home, 950 Mansell Road, Roswell, GA 30076. A funeral mass will occur Monday, April 8, 2024 at 10:30 AM at St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church, 11330 Woodstock Rd, Roswell, GA 30075.
Mary will be laid to rest in Green Lawn Cemetery & Mausoleum, 950 Mansell Road, Roswell, GA 30076.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mary's memory may be made to National Kidney Foundation, https://www.kidney.org/.
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