Joan (JoAnne) Swingle of Springfield passed away at home in the late evening of Saturday, June 27, 2026; she was 91 years young. During her last hours, Joan was comforted by her eldest daughter, Linda Kolze, and both granddaughters, MaryJo and LoriAnne, and family friend, Aimee Packard, and a number of aides and hospice workers, including Maddie, Melanie, Reagan, and nurse Dana.

Joan was born and raised in the small coal mining community of Pemberton, West Virginia on February 24, 1935. Joan’s parents were William Jackson and Lillian Pettry Beckelhimer and she had 10 brothers and sisters, of which only 3 survive today: Paul Beckelhimer, Polly Menz, and Juanita Jackson. Life growing up in West Virginia during the Great Depression was extremely difficult and Joan appreciated the value of a dollar and never got over the worry about having enough food to feed the family her entire life.

Joan moved to Newport News, Virginia during the Korean War to provide support to her active-duty brother, Paul, and his wife, Francis and their young family. While there, she met her future husband, Hubert Swingle, who was in the US Navy. They married on February 5, 1955 in Coal City, West Virginia. According to “Granny”, she told her granddaughter, MaryJo, that she was most happy that Hugh made her his wife and moved her to his hometown: Jackson, Ohio. They were blessed with the arrival of their first daughter, Linda Sue, a year later in 1956. In 1959 they welcomed a son, John Wilbur, to the family, and finally in 1963 another daughter, Sandra Marie, joined the tribe.

In 1966 the little family received a work-related transfer from Ohio to Springfield, Missouri. Joan was a homemaker and enjoyed cooking, crocheting, and hosting family, extended family, and friends in her home. She cared for her best friend’s three children from birth to kindergarten and treated them as if they were her own. She embraced Linda’s in-laws as if they were part of her own family and helped care for them in their elder years. Joan hosted and prepared large dinners for Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday gatherings, as well as birthday barbecues including Linda’s in-laws, Dr. Vernon and Mary Ann Kolze, and Mary Ann’s brother, Oowah Tom and Linda’s brother-in-law, Bill Kolze, including his wife Marcia and their children, Chris and Emily. She happily facilitated treasured memories for her loved ones. Granddaughter LoriAnne was born with a mitochondrial/metabolic disorder and although she has never spoken or walked, LoriAnne communicated beautifully with her loving grandmother who accepted her unconditionally. MJ met her husband, Trevor, at Bible Study in Fairfax, VA and was thrilled to bring him to Missouri to show him off to Granny. Granny was appropriately happy to finally be getting a grandson.

Joan is survived by her three children: Linda Sue (Thomas) Kolze of Phoenix, Arizona; John of the area; and Sandy (Dwight) Gower of Springfield. Her only grandchildren are Linda and Tom’s two daughters: MaryJo Alicia (Trevor Hill) of Manassas, VA and LoriAnne Amelia of Phoenix, AZ.

There will be a visitation on Friday, July 3 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Gorman Scharpf Funeral Home, 1947 East Seminole, Springfield. Burial will follow at a later date at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery where Joan will be laid to rest alongside her husband, Hugh.