Gloria Lyons Swenson

Gloria Lyons Swenson entered into rest peacefully with her family by her side on Wednesday, the 12th of January following a brief illness. The daughter of the late Percy and Helen Lyons, she was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey, raised by her aunt and uncle after her parents passed at a very young age. She was 3 lbs. at birth and kept warm in an oven, as many premature babies were at that time. During the years of WWII, she had to forgo her dreams of becoming a teacher and went into the nursing profession, as more wartime money was set aside for nursing rather than for education. She attended nursing school at Englewood Hospital with her lifelong friends Winnie Eisner, Virginia Collins, and Catherine Gross, and became an operating room supervisor and head nurse at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. At a party, she met the love of her life, her husband of 67 years, Bill Swenson, through his cousin Catherine. They married and Gloria moved up to the rural mountains of Pomona in Rockland County, NY. She worked at many local hospitals, became a traveling nurse, and finished her nursing career as a public health nurse for the Rockland County Health Department. She gave birth to three sons, Kris, William, and Steven, raising them with love and patience, always the gentle disciplinarian. She was always there for her children in good times and bad, with reassuring words and an ear to lend. She was a devout member of Ladentown United Methodist Church, and there was ne’er a dry eye among the congregation when she and Bill would sing the hymn “His Name is Wonderful” at the annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Typical snowbirds, Gloria and Bill thoroughly enjoyed their retirement, spending their winters in balmy North Fort Myers, FL, playing golf and singing in many senior community productions. They also traveled to many far off places such as Alaska, Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Scandinavia. She leaves this life having raised three sons, and having completely enjoyed her two grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A visitation for Gloria will be held Tuesday, January 18, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Michael J. Higgins Funeral Service Inc., 321 S Main St, New City, New York 10956. A funeral service will occur Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Michael J. Higgins Funeral Service Inc.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Ladentown United Methodist Church.