By HDN staff
BOBBI SWANK
CHESTER Beverly Jean Bobbi Swank, 75, died Friday, Oct. 1, 1999 at her daughters home in Havre.
Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, at the Chester United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at the Chester Cemetery.
She was born at Conrad on July 18, 1924 one of two daughters to Russell and Wilma (Kirkpatrick) Hays. She graduated from Conrad High School in 1942.
She worked for her parents in a Conrad cafe. She also worked as a clerk and bookkeeper at the Pondera Drug.
She married twice; first to Jack Hadaway in 1943 and then to Everett Hicks in 1949, but both marriages ended in divorce.
In 1962, she married Casey Swank of Chester. They made their home on the Swank farm northeast of Chester where she worked as a farmwife and mother. After Caseys untimely death in 1971, she remained active in the farming operation before eventually retiring in 1995.
She active community volunteer. A member of the Democratic Party since 1958, she first served as a secretary of the Conrad Democratic Womens Club in Chester. she continued her membership in the Democratic Womens Club in Chester, serving as secretary and president for many years. She also served as Congressional Committeewoman for more than 10 years, served on the State Central Committee and the Liberty County Central Committee, and served as chairwoman of the Democratic at the local Marias Fair.
She also was a candidate for the Montana State Senate in 1978.
She also served five years on the State Board and Liberty County Board for the Miss Democrat Pageant; the pageant was always successful due in part to her ability to recruit and assist local contestants.
She was honored in 1996 when she was chosen as Montanas Democratic Womens Club Woman of the Year, an award bestowed on her for loyal service and dedication to the ideals of the Democratic Party.
She served on the local government study commission and on the committee of certified cities and towns. She helped organize the annual Voice of Democracy Speech Contest at the local schools.
She was a reading volunteer at the Chester Elementary School and also helped organize the Girl Scout Troop No. 207.
She was a member of the United Methodist Church, Chester Garden Club, V.F.W. Auxiliary and worked as a volunteer at the Chester Senior Citizens Center.
She enjoyed crocheting, embroidery, crossword puzzles, TV and growing plants.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and a grandson, Corey Groven.
She is survived by three daughters, Pat Groven, Kuna, Idaho, Micki Lalum, Havre, and Renee Rolf, Havre; a sister, Pat Holstine, Lincoln; five grandchildren; three adopted grandchildren, Indika, Milinda and Shanaka Desilva, Sri Lanka; and many nieces and nephews.
Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel in Chester.
