Saratoga News

Betty and Ray Swanson in 1942.

Louise Webb

Makeup or not, she was ever the beauty

Retired Navy Commander Ray Swanson and his wife, Betty, celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary May 9 with a family gathering. Betty laughed as she recalled the time when she and Ray were courting and Ray asked her to wash the makeup off her face. He wanted to see what she looked like without it. Fortunately, she passed the test, because unbeknown to Betty, he was planning to propose marriage but wanted to be sure he would like her as well with no makeup.

The couple moved to Saratoga in l965 after a two-year tour of duty in Oahu, Hawaii. Ray served in the Pacific during WW II as a fighter pilot. He served aboard the carrier San Jacinto along with one of the youngest torpedo pilots, George Bush. Ray says one of his proudest moments was joining President Bush and Barbara Bush at the reunion of Air Group 51 in Texas in l994, when President and Mrs. Bush hosted a party at the Galveston Airplane Museum.

After retiring from the Navy, Ray got his real estate broker's license and opened his office in the Saratoga Village in l970. At 81, he is an active member of the Saratoga Lions Club and still keeps his real estate license current with the Saratoga RE/MAX office.

Betty was a school secretary at Congress Springs School and worked in several other Saratoga schools until her retirement in l987. She loves volunteering four times a week at the Community Hospital in Los Gatos and calls it her home away from home.

The Swansons have four children: Shirlee McKibbin, Sandra Haynes, Rick Swanson and Sue Fox. Sue, the youngest, operates the Workshoppe in Saratoga. Ray and Betty are enjoying their retirement. They say they are serene, relaxed and happy.

Jackie and Ellsworth ("Els") Welch celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 2 at Hakone Gardens. They moved to Saratoga in l949, when Els accepted a teaching position at Los Gatos High School.

Jackie was a columnist and feature writer for the Los Gatos Times Observer.

The couple's three children helped throw their anniversary party. David emceed the program, and Lee Anne played the fiddle with her bluegrass band, Sidesaddle and Company. Her husband, Peter Tommerup, was also in attendance. Jackie and Els' son Edward and his wife, Rose, came to celebrate all the way from London, where they now live.

Willys Peck reminisced about his long friendship with Jackie and Els since l949. He recalled double-dating with them in '49. Willys was then courting his wife, Betty. Willys remembers treating the three to a fancy dinner for $10!

Vic Ulmer of Saratoga appeared with a choral octet. A gourmet buffet was served by Bob and Dana Williams and Mary Alice Williams Matlack. Linda Williams Allen, who is a professional caterer in Texas, flew in from there to prepare the food.

Els introduced fellow naval officers from World War II, including Miles Rankin of Saratoga, who was in the Battle of Samar with him in l944.

Els and Jackie feel important elements in marriage include having a sense of humor and flexibility.

Other News: According to Saratoga school board trustee Cindy Ruby, more than 250 adult volunteers and many children are helping to get out the vote for Measure D on June 3. "The children's parents wouldn't want to work in an environment of such poor conditions as our schools," she said.

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