Mary Ball Swanson

 May 12, 1913 - January 30, 2012

Mary Ball Swanson, 98 of Hysham, Montana, passed away January 30, 2012 at the home of her son in Blackfoot, Idaho. Mary was born on May 12, 1913 in St. Francisville, Illinois to William Ferring and Lucia Ravelette Ball. At the age of two, she moved with her family to Myers, Montana after her father secured a position with the Northern Pacific Railway as an agent.

Due to the ill health of her mother, she completed a portion of first grade back in Illinois.  From second through the fourth grade, she attended the Rancher School. In fifth grade, she attended school in an abandoned house about 1.5 miles east of Myers. Grades Six through Eight were spent at the Riverside School. She then attended Hysham High School and graduated in 1930. Following high school, and upon receiving a scholarship, she attended the Montana State Normal College in Dillon. She graduated in March of 1932 at the age of 18.

She taught school at a one-room grade school north of Custer for two years followed by a year teaching fifth and sixth grades in Hysham. The following three years were spent teaching at another one room school, this time in Pondera County near Conrad. In 1938 she married Ralph Swanson and moved back to Pease Bottom. The next twenty-two years were spent as a farmer’s wife. During that time they had one son, Richard.

In the fall of 1960, she returned to teaching in Hysham. She chose to pursue higher education once again and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Eastern Montana College in 1968. She retired from the teaching profession in 1975. Following her retirement, she was able to pursue a variety of activities that included gardening, crocheting and oil painting. Several of her paintings can be viewed at various locations in and around Hysham.

She is survived by her son Richard of Blackfoot, ID, granddaughter Carolyn of Helena, MT, and grandson Ryan of Yakima, WA. She was preceded in death by her husband Ralph, brothers John Ball and William “Bill” Ball, and her sister Lizadora Young.

A memorial service will be held in her honor on February 29 at 11:00 a.m. at the Community Presbyterian Church in Hysham. Print this post