This won’t be your ordinary obituary because she was not an ordinary lady.
Varonicia Lynn Swan was born January 16th 1954 in Erie PA to Ronald Russell Rhineberger and Margaret Elizabeth (Warden) Rhineberger. She left this world on August 18th 2022 surrounded by her family, including her darling baby sister, Susan. She was married to Douglas Allen Swan on October 5th 1985.
She is preceded in death by her husband, parents, three sisters, one nephew, and one niece.
She was not a mama bear. She was more of a lioness. She was fierce, smart, feisty, and would protect her cubs at all cost. She taught them the importance of independence, strong work ethic, and how to be strong. Polio may have taken her ability to run, but she knew how to stand on her own two feet. She never let her disability stop her from enjoying an adventure.
She was the PTO mom and the treasurer of the booster club. She went to every sport game, cheerleading event, and school concert. When it was time for college, she toured the schools and filled out the paperwork. She led by example, by going to college in the fifth decade of her life. She worked hard and handmade note cards would fill the kitchen table. She landed a job at Fort Leonard Wood General Hospital. She loved working on the fort and after 12 years of service, she retired in March of 2022.
She loved her children and would often brag about them to anybody who would listen. She was survived by four children, Douglas (Candi) Swan, Dawn Schiller, Katie (Morrell) Whitley, and Emily Swan. Once grandbabies came along, you would not often find her without one. She was survived by five grandchildren, Paige Henry, Joey Schiller, Sarah Schiller, James Swan, and Zenobia Swan. She was survived by two great-grandchildren, Paxon Rogers and Zaiyne Schiller. She was there for births, graduations, and birthdays. She loved to watch James play basketball and you would often find her in the stands. They were the light of her eyes and she was their Meemaw.
No matter what house she lived in, you would find Home Interior pictures. She loved to watch movies with her beloved friends Pam and Tamika. If you had the pleasure of knowing her, you knew she was from Pennsylvania with lots of brothers and sisters. The love she had for her family was unlimited.
She was funny and was even voted Class Clown in high school. Her cooking will not be forgotten because much like her driving, it was terrible. It was decided many years ago that she was no longer allowed to cook holiday meals after she cooked a Christmas turkey with everything inside (including the plastic) and not a single ounce of seasoning on it. She should have been stopped after finding a piece of her cabinet in the sweet potatoes she made for Thanksgiving years before.
She was so wonderfully weird and will be missed by so many. She will be remembered for her fun-loving spirit, sense of style, beautiful flower beds, and incredible love for Starbucks “Pink Drink.”
