Mary Jane Swanson passed away peacefully in her sleep of natural causes March 1st at the age of 96. The oldest of 7 children, she is preceded in death by her two sisters; two of her brothers; her husband, her great love, Theodore (Ted) Swanson; and her youngest son, Tod.

Beloved wife, mother, stepmother, grand- and great-grandmother, and aunt to many, Jane was devoted to her family. She loved big family gatherings and having young visitors show up at the family home on Lake St. Clair with a "posse" of friends to ski, swim and eat—especially eat. She was an adventurous cook—nothing was out of bounds to try: Japanese, East Indian, Thai, and especially traditional Italian.  She loved to feed people. Food was her language of love.

She believed in fitness and health, walking up the steep hills around the lake house well into her 80's to get the mail or haul water to her small garden.  For years she was a visible addition to the culture of Olympia by spending her lunch hours eating a brown bag lunch while walking around the shore of Capitol Lake.  People recognized the petite figure with the beautiful prematurely white hair walking no matter what the weather.

Jane grew up outside of Snohomish Washington and attended Washington State University as a communications major. After her junior year, she married and moved to Lake St. Clair near Olympia to start a family.

A skilled writer, she worked for the State of Washington Personnel division as the administrative assistant to the director of the appeals section for many years until her retirement.

Several members of her family, including her husband, were military and private pilots whom she greatly admired.  Although she obtained her own pilot's license in her 40's, her sense of adventure was captured by the vintage GMC motorhome in which she and Ted traveled the West for years, visiting GMC club friends and dodging a little bit of the Northwest's winter weather.

Jane was immensely helpful and generous.  Her surviving family and loving neighbors will miss her smiling strength, old-school realism, and her "take-charge" attitude.

Asked once what her secret to happiness was, she quickly responded, "I don't waste time on regrets."  When faced with a situation that was beyond her help, she often quoted Snoopy from Peanuts, "…you can't steer a dog dish."

In honor of Jane's preference, no official memorial is planned.  Instead, perhaps take advice that she said often in honor of family members and dear friends: "Kiss a pilot."