Doris Ruth Swartz, 83, passed away May 30, 2008, at the Gallatin Rest Home in Bozeman after a lengthy illness.
She was born March 2, 1925, in Bozeman to Nellie (Welton) and Irving T. Miller. Doris graduated as valedictorian of her class from Gallatin County High School in 1943. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree from Montana State College in 1947 and accepted a position teaching home economics at the high school in Sidney. From 1948 to 1949 she taught nutrition and dietetics at the Fannie Farmer School of Cookery in Boston, Mass. In 1949 and 1950 she taught home economics at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman. Later she served for many years as a substitute teacher in the Bozeman school system. Always fond of children, Doris also worked in a local daycare and served as a Cub Scout den mother. Doris married William J. Swartz at the Copley Methodist Church in Boston on June 14, 1948. After returning to Montana, their sons, William Jr. And Carl were born in Bozeman. Doris was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church. In the Bozeman church she was active in Church Women United, served on the lay ministry team and taught Sunday school. In college, she belonged to the Alpha Phi chapter of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, and the scholastic honoraries Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Upsilon Omicron. Surviving Doris are her husband, William J. Swartz of Bozeman; son, William “Bill” Jr. Of Havre; foster-grandson, Joshua Reaugh of Havre; nieces, Dee (Joe) Landers and Alice (Scott) Beam of Tyler, Texas; aunts, Bessie Martine of Tigard, Ore., and Murel Tichenor of Vancouver, Wash.; two great-nieces, Marian and Allyson Russell, both of Oklahoma; and cousins, Joan (Jerry) Anders and Dodie (Ray) Hohn, both of Helena, and Lanore (Paul) Galvin of Los Angeles. She was preceded in death by her parents, stepfather, Ollie T. Barnes; son, Carl; sister, Emma (Herman) Engel; and niece, Linda (Ted) Stevens. Memorial services will be held Thursday, June 5, at 2 p.m. at Bozeman United Methodist Church. Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. Memorials may be made to Intermountain Children's Home, 500 S. Lamborn, Helena, MT 59601 or the United Methodist Church of Bozeman.
