Cleo Ann Swanson

MISSOULA – An incredible woman, our wonderful mother, a loving grandmother, a beloved sister, and an unconditional friend, passed away Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, surrounded by her children and the caring staff of Providence St. Patrick Hospital.

Cleo was the second of eight children raised on the Steinhauer homestead in rural Thief River Falls, Minn. After graduating high school, Cleo obtained her nursing certification as a Licensed Practical Nurse. While working at the Northern Pacific Railroad Hospital, Cleo accepted a date from a pestering and persuasive patient, Kenneth N. Swanson. The couple married in 1961, settling in a cozy home in the Target Range area of Missoula. Soon a son, Matthew, was born and daughter, Laurie, arrived three years later.

The busy mother involved herself and her children with 4-H projects, gardening, church smorgasbords, camping, VASA, and tending the award-winning iris gardens she and Ken designed and exhibited as members of the Missoula Iris Society. She was a master lefse maker who one holiday season made over a thousand of them. She took great joy in making all kinds of Scandinavian treats.

Cleo had a great love for children. She opened her heart and her home as a daycare provider. She treated her daycare kids like grandchildren. She had a quick wit and a sense of humor that even her illnesses could not eclipse.

Cleo was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth (2006); her parents; her sister, Irene; and an infant sister, Retta. She is survived by her son, Matthew (Monica) Swanson; daughter, Laurie Swanson; grandchildren, Jessica (Ken) King, Jacob Swanson and Peter Swanson; sisters, Jeannie (Doug) Grund, Gladys (Tom) Ahlin, Donna (John) Fosholm and Patty (Jim) Klemmetsen; brothers, Harold and Bruce Steinhauer; brother-in-law, Bill Mehrkens; sister-in-law, Lois (Jim); and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 830 South Ave. W., in Missoula. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Agape/Christian Love Fund c/o Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Read more: http://missoulian.com/news/local/obituaries/cleo-a-swanson/article_a34b898c-3f97-11e1-8429-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1jjzir4tB