The Willow Glen Resident

Susan Swain

Family bids farewell to a leader and a survivor

Swain brought residents in the River Glen Park area together

By Maggie Benson

When 29-year-old Beth Verdekal was in grade school, she remembers her mother filling out a questionnaire at the request of a schoolteacher. On it, the teacher asked, "What qualities do you most want to pass on to your children?" The question was followed by a list of characteristics and a space where parents could rank the most important.

No. 1 on Beth's mother's list was "independence." Susan Florence Swain wanted her two daughters to stand on their own and to live their lives as strong women--as she had done.

Both Verdekal and her sister, Laura Swain, 24, agree that their mother was successful in her charge--mainly by setting a strong example for her daughters as a survivor.

"I think my mom just didn't take no for an answer if she really wanted something, and she passed that on to us," Verdekal explained.

Susan Swain died on Nov. 19 after suffering a sudden heart attack. She was 56.

Swain came to San Jose from New York in 1972 after leaving her husband. As a single mother with a 4-year-old child, she had no place to live, no money and no contacts. She checked into the San Jose Rescue Mission, staying there until she found a residence where the owners allowed her to clean apartments in lieu of rent.

"She had a huge work ethic," Laura Swain explained. "Because of us, she just had to do what she had to do."

Years later, unbeknown to her daughters, she would help the YWCA raise funds to build a shelter for disadvantaged women and children.

"We found out when [a woman] spoke at the service," Laura explained.

Despite her circumstances, Swain refused to go on public assistance. She landed a job as a secretary in the computer industry, during which time she married briefly and gave birth to Laura, and then became a single mother with two children.

"She always had a very positive attitude, regardless of the situation," her best friend, Rose Pfander, recalled.

After five years in the computer industry, Swain moved into property management and became the "right-hand person" to the owner of several professional health care clinics. Several years later, Swain founded her own property tax and utility auditing business, which she ran out of the Willow Glen home she purchased in 1980.

More than a survivor, Swain was a fun-loving, straightforward friend, who was a noted leader in her River Glen Park neighborhood.

"Susan had a special charisma about her. She was really an amazing, bubbly person. A lot of people don't have that--it's hard to explain," friend Peter Keady said.

Keady and Swain met while walking their dogs at River Glen Park. Swain and her 8-year-old golden lab, Alex, formed the core of a group of neighbors who met at the park every day to exercise their pets and socialize.

"She was like the rock of Gibraltar. Every day at 5:15 or 5:30, rain, snow or sunshine, she'd be there," Keady recalled.

The group started with Swain and a few neighbors, but--aided by Swain's infectious personality--it quickly grew to 30 members. The neighbors picked an unofficial moniker, the "Dog Group," and Susan became its unofficial leader. She was the one who came to the park each day, introduced new members to old and kept everyone connected. She was also the one who kept up and sent out the group's phone list (complete with members' and dogs' names) and created its now infamous footnote: "Be there or be talked about."

Swain's sense of humor was legendary, her daughters and friends said. "She had a wit that made people double over with laughter," Verdekal recalled.

"Her laugh was so loud!" Pfander added. "I used to like to go to the show with her because I liked watching people turn around to look at her when she laughed. She liked it, too. And she wouldn't stop."

Another friend, Bob Cook, added, "That's something I will really miss, her laugh."

Swain was born in Los Angeles on Sept. 27, 1941. Her parents died when she was 8 years old. She and her older sister, Meredith, were raised by their grandmother, who died when Swain was 22. An elderly woman, Swain's grandmother had a difficult time keeping up with the young girls, leaving them alone to virtually raise themselves. This fostered an early sense of independence in Swain.

It was that independence that drove her to make a successful life out of a difficult one--one that was remembered by these words on the memorial service pamphlet: "She strove to have the best for herself and her girls. Everything she acquired was the result of her hard work and determination."

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