Family and close friends all have an Elaine Swift
original--the tole paintings she painted on boards, saw blades, pottery,
anything that would hold paint. This was
Elaine in a nutshell, artistic, thrifty, generous and loving. For her children, grandchildren, great
grandchildren and any number of extended family members, neighbors and friends,
Elaine was the quintessential farm woman and family matriarch; Milking cows,
raising chickens, orcharding, processing farm foods, gardening, cooking,
crafting, and genealogy. Elaine fit her home and farm like a well loved glove
and served as the heart of her large and loving family.
Born Irma Elaine Botens on April 25, 1925 in the Olean
Mountain Clinic Hospital to Stanley and Annabelle Dunlap Botens, Elaine was an only
child. She attended the one room
schoolhouse on Mt Monroe Road, riding bareback to school most mornings. Her horse, Kit, was so well trained that
Elaine would let it walk back home on its own.
For high school she moved on to and graduated from Cuba High
School.
Robert Swift, of nearby Carpenter Road, came to work as a
farmhand on the Botens dairy and courted Elaine. Elaine and Robert married
January 26, 1948 in the town of Rushford, and launched into seven decades of
farming, family and community leadership.
Elaine's parents eventually purchased an Abbotts Road farm to be closer
to Elaine, and then moved into the Swift home in their declining years.
Elaine raised cattle, horses, sheep, geese, chickens,
turkeys, hogs, cats, dogs and an enormous and productive garden. She was a 4-H leader in Allegany County for
52 years, and a past member of the Twin Ridge Conservation Club, Abbotts Unity
Sunshine Society and the Cuba Grange #799.
Following retirement from commercial dairy farming in the early 1980s
the Swifts made hay, raised beef cattle, hogs, poultry and continued to milk a
handful of cows for home use. Family,
friends and neighbors enjoyed the bounty of Elaine's farming, kitchen and
garden, and there was always an extra place at the dinner table for anyone that
visited. Today, cuttings and starts from
her shrubs and flowers grow in family gardens nationwide.
Elaine is survived by Robert Swift, her husband of 69 years;
four children, Dawn (George) Santangelo, Cathy (Chris Rogosienski) Hurlburt,
Randy (Betty Slater) Swift and Scott Swift, all of Cuba; eleven grandchildren;
twenty-two great-grandchildren; a special cousin, Waneta Johnson of Wellsville;
and several nieces and nephews.
Elaine was predeceased by a granddaughter, Jessa Santangelo
in 1986, and a daughter-in-law, Judy Swift in 2005.
A celebration of Elaine’s life will be held from 1 to 6p.m.
Saturday, May 6, 2017 at 833 Carpenter Hill Road in Cuba for family and
friends. Interment will be at the Bellville Cemetery in the Town of New Hudson
at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to
the Bellville Cemetery, 9814 Route 446, Cuba, NY or the Hart Comfort House, 141
East State Street, Wellsville, NY.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mark F. Rinker
Funeral home & Memorial Service, Inc., Cuba.
