Shirley Louise (Potts) Swartz

If you are reading this obituary, I am now where I have longed to be – in the arms of Jesus.   Home. 

Shirley Louise Swartz, age 88, passed away on 10/21/23 at the Astoria Place of Cambridge.  She was a lifelong resident of the Senecaville and Byesville areas.  There will not be a service at this time, but a celebration of life will be held at a later date to be determined.

Shirley would say her greatest accomplishment and joy was her family.  Shirley’s husband, Richard (Dick) Swartz passed away in 1993.  Surviving are her children, Rick (Vicki) Swartz, Karen Swartz, Carol (Robin) Woods, Mary Daniels, Jeff (Angela) Swartz, and Melissa Sturtz.  Also surviving is her special niece, Delores Holland; and daughter-in-law, Carmen Swartz.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Uriah and Floral Potts; her son, Kenneth “Randy” Swartz; a granddaughter, Tiffany; a grandson, Paul; two great-grandsons, Michael and Willie III; and son-in-law, Garry Sturtz. 

Shirley leaves many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and  great-great-grandchildren, to whom she would send birthday cards with a dollar bill every year.  She always remembered the dates of each of their birthdays, without fail, which was truly amazing.  She had a great mind.  She also had a love for crocheting and enjoyed making each child a keepsake.

She was a homemaker for many years and then worked at the Cambridge State Hospital for several more years, retiring in 1992.  She was a Sunday School teacher at the Byesville Baptist Church at which she was a member for over 50 years.  She was always very involved in her children’s sports, band, and other scholastic events through the years at Byesville and Meadowbrook Schools.

She loved the “farm life.”  She grew up on a farm and never lost that love for the outdoors. She was an avid bird lover and fed them religiously and plentifully.  They were definitely spoiled.  She was also very boisterous about “shooing off” the raccoons, squirrels and other animals that would try to steal “my birds’” food.  She was also very passionate about recycling.  (Watch out if you start to throw away a plastic bottle!)

Her greatest love was Jesus.  She had a special love connection with Israel and the Jewish people. She was a bible scholar who had a desire to share her knowledge with anyone around her.  She had a dream to start a bible study at her new home at Astoria, but that was not God’s plan, as He took her home. 

Shirley enjoyed her Reds baseball and Buckeye football, but she will enjoy much more telling one of her l-o-n-g stories to anyone who will listen in her new heavenly home.

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