Tabitha Kesner Swab, 81


Tabitha Kesner Swab, 81

A Mass of Christian Burial for Tabitha Catherine Swab, 81, of Kansas City, formerly of Sunrise Beach, was held Oct. 27, 2018, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Laurie. Mrs. Swab died Oct. 22 in her home.

She was born Nov. 19, 1936, in Everett, Washington, the daughter of Ballard Matthew and Aloysia Lucille Juneau Kesner.

She was raised in Tecumseh and was a 1954 graduate of Gainesville High School. She moved to Kansas City to work for Westinghouse, and while there she met James Raymond “Jim” Swab. They were married July 21, 1956, at the Visitation Church in Kansas City. They were married 57 years before his death on Aug. 19, 2013. 

The Swabs made their home in Kansas City, where she was a homemaker and also worked as a bookkeeper at Twin Oaks on the Plaza and later as an activities director at two different retirement communities. In 1981, they moved to the Lake of the Ozarks, where she spent many years as an activities director for the Laurie Care Center.

Mrs. Swab was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church while they lived at the lake, and she was able to receive sacraments at her home in Kansas City as her health declined. 

She loved and cherished her family and friends. She welcomed anyone into her home and had a way of making everyone feel special.

Survivors include her sons, Stephen M. Swab and wife Susan of Olathe, Kansas, James G. Swab and wife Lisa of Beebe, Arkansas, and Joseph A. Swab of Warrensburg; daughters Theresa C. Hiemenz and husband Paul of Mission Hills, Kansas, and Andrea L. Bogert and husband David of Lee’s Summit; grandchildren Nicholas, Joshua, Jacqueline, Joseph, Jr., Haris, Samuel and Grace; seven great-grandchildren and many other relatives and friends. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and one brother, James Matthew Kesner.

Graveside services and interment in St. Patrick’s Cemetery followed the funeral service.

Arrangements by Kidwell-Garber Funeral home, Sunrise Beach. 

Ozark County Times

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