Anne Swisher Chase, age 87 of Morgantown, peacefully graduated to glory on Feb. 20, 2023, surrounded by her family and pastor. Anne was born June 7, 1935, at her maternal grandparents’ farm near Weston. She was the only daughter of the late L. Bush Swisher Sr. and Lorraine King Swisher.
Anne’s formative years were spent in Morgantown, where she was active at Drummond Chapel Methodist Church, in the Girl Scouts, Rainbow Girls and 4-H. She was a cheerleader in junior high and played clarinet in the Morgantown High School marching band. She was an accomplished pianist, a vocalist, president of the Junior Music Club and a 1948 West Virginia Golden Horseshoe winner. Anne graduated from MHS in 1953 and attended West Virginia University as a home economics (consumer science) major. While at WVU, she was an active member of the Delta Gamma sorority, the Wesley Foundation, the Kappa Phi Methodist Women’s Sorority and Phi Upsilon Omicron honor society in the integrated field of family and consumer sciences. She was a princess at the Mountain State Forest Festival.
After graduation from WVU, she entered (Case) Western Reserve University’s dietetic internship program in Cleveland. Following completion of that program, she became a registered dietitian (RD) and worked for the next six years as a dietitian at Fairmont General Hospital, Watts Hospital (Durham, N.C.), WVU Hospital, and finally, Duke University Hospital. In September, 1960, she married Bruce Chase, of Lewisburg, also a graduate of WVU, after which they moved to Durham, N.C., where Bruce attended Duke University School of Medicine, graduating as an MD in 1964. Anne was awarded the PHT degree (“Putting Hubby Through”) for her role in helping Bruce through medical school.
Bruce served on active duty as an Army Medical Corps officer from 1964 until he retired in 1993. During that time, they lived and raised their four children in Pensacola, Fla., Fort Stewart, Ga., Boston, twice in San Antonio, Fairfax, Va., Enterprise, Ala. and twice in Germany. For the year that Bruce was stationed in Vietnam (1970-71), Anne and the children lived with her parents in Morgantown.
Wherever they were living, Bruce and Anne were active in their local churches and chapels. Anne particularly loved playing piano for Children’s Choir and, with Bruce, coordinating Bible studies. Upon retirement in 1993, Anne and Bruce returned to Morgantown, and often went abroad together on short-term missionary trips to Jamaica, Romania, Germany and Poland, as well as within the U.S.
In addition to her parents, Anne was preceded in death by her older brother, L. Bush “Buddy” Swisher Jr., in 1968, and her younger brother, Charles “Chuck” Swisher, in 2017. She is survived by her loving husband of nearly 63 years, Bruce; and their four children: son, David (Paula Leggett) and grandsons Kyler and Dashiell, of New York City; daughter, Susan (Richard Popovich) and grandsons Adam and Trevor, of St. Augustine, Fla.; son, John (Heather Burnett Hicks) and grandsons, Andrew and Jonathan, and granddaughter Katelyn, of Fairfax, Va.; and daughter, Amy (Travis Sparks) and grandsons, Aiden and Emerson, of Sammamish, Wash. Also surviving are sisters-in-law Lucretia (Swisher) Carney, of San Francisco, and Judy Swisher, of Elizabethtown, Pa.; brother-in-law, Robert Rippey, of Strasburg, Va.; and many nieces and nephews.
Anne’s great loves were Jesus, her church, her God, her family and friends. She loved to entertain and meet people. She was irrepressibly friendly, to whom no one was a stranger. She prized education and was a fierce champion of rights, especially for the hearing impaired. As a wonderful musician and supporter of the arts, she passed on a lifetime love of music and theater to her children and grandchildren. Generous of heart and spirit, she was always looking for ways to help others.
A service of celebration will be held at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, 308 Elmhurst St., Morgantown, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15. Anne requested everyone wear bright colors in celebration of her life. Hastings Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Casa Shalom Ministries (Helping Ukrainian Refugees and kids at risk in Romania) https://www.casa-shalom-family.org/ Or by mail: P.O. Box 4671, Charlottesville, VA. 22905.
Condolences:
www.hastingsfuneralhome.com
