HURON A Pillar of her community and mainstay of her family, Dolores Swartz, 99, died March 28, 2025, in Huron.
Her funeral service will be 2 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the First Presbyterian Church in Wessington, with burial at the Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery in Huron. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.
Dolores Irene Barnes was born Nov. 16, 1925, to Inger (Wangsness) and David H. Barnes in Dearborn Township, S.D. The family lived on a farm near Virgil until moving into Virgil when she was 7 years old. She first attended rural school in Dearborn Township and went on to graduate from Virgil School. Dolores received her degree from Huron College in 1947 and later attended Northern State College enabling her to renew her teaching certificate and be qualified as a librarian.
After graduating from Huron College, she taught school in Jeffers, Minn., for four years.
She married Charles Swartz on June 27, 1948. Dolores and Charles had seven children: David, Robert, Carolyn, Daniel, Richard, Kathryn and Bradley.
The family lived in Jeffers until 1957, when they moved to South Dakota to farm in Sand Creek Township. In 1967 they moved to Wessington when Charles was appointed postmaster in Wessington.
In 1976 Dolores returned to education as a librarian in the Wessington Public School, until her retirement in 1987. She was also librarian at the Wessington Public Library from 1980 to 1995.
Dolores was confirmed in the Methodist Church in Virgil, and later became a member of the Presbyterian Church in Wessington. She served as a trustee, deacon and an elder, and was Clerk of Session for many years. She also was a member of the Presbyterian Women, GFWC Wessington Womens Study Club, American Legion Auxiliary, and Pioneer Association of Libraries.
She had 10 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, eight step-great-grandchildren and two step-great-great grandchildren.
Dolores is survived by children David (Denise) Swartz of Hot Springs, Carolyn (Marc) Stergionis of Great Falls, Mont., Daniel (Becky) Swartz of Rochester, Minn., Richard Swartz of Wessington, Kathryn Swartz of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Bradley Swartz (Shelly Auen) of Worthington, Minn. She is also survived by sister Carol Sabers of Omaha, Neb.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, son Robert, grandson Christopher Swartz and brother William Barnes.
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