Xerlan Hazen Swaffar

Evans Funeral Home announces the death of Mrs. Xerlan Hazen Swaffar, age 104, of Jefferson GA, who passed away on Saturday, June 27, 2015. Mrs. Swaffar was born on a farm near Centralia, Kansas, the first of seven children to Ella Vee and Leslie Hazen.  She spent her early childhood in Ithaca, NY and later the family moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma.  Mrs. Swaffar attended Oklahoma State University with a major in Home Economics. She was a member of Kappa Delta, Omicron Nu and was honored as Aggie Princess. There she met and married Paul Swaffar. The young couple moved to Blacksburg, Virginia where Mr. Swaffar worked in the Animal Husbandry Department at Virginia Tech. Three daughters were born while they resided there.

In 1949, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Mr. Swaffar became Secretary of the American Hereford Association. The couple entertained and traveled extensively. Mrs. Swaffar was a member of the Kansas City Garden Club. Her flower garden was featured on the Kansas City Garden Tours. She was also a social welfare volunteer and a member of Second Presbyterian Church.

Upon retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Swaffar developed a Hereford Cattle farm near Oskaloosa, Kansas called the “PX Outfit”. There, Mrs. Swaffar continued to garden, entertain, become a church elder at Oskaloosa Presbyterian Church and she began oil and watercolor painting. When the Swaffars sold their farm, they settled in Oskaloosa.

After Mr. Swaffar’s death, Mrs. Swaffar moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma with her daughter, Durian, and her son-in-law. There she gardened, volunteered at Restore Hope and was active at Asbury United Methodist Church. In 2000, Mrs. Swaffar came with her daughter and son-in-law to Jefferson, Georgia, where she became an active resident at Bentley Assisted Living. She was known to all as “Granny X”. She was a member of the Jefferson First United Methodist Church.

She is survived by her daughters and son-in-laws, Durian and William Ives and Jody and Tim Younkin; her brother and sister –in-law, Thamon and Janie Hazen; 5 Grandchildren and 6 Great-Grandchildren. Her husband Paul, her daughter and son-in-law, Jerilyn and Howard Carnahan, and granddaughter, Kathy Graddy, preceded her in death.

The Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 2:00PM in the Jefferson First United Methodist Church with a reception to follow in the Church Fellowship Hall. Mrs. Swaffar will be interred in the Pleasant View Cemetery in Oskaloosa, Kansas.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jefferson Public Library, 1000 Washington Street, Jefferson, GA 30549, the Northridge Health and Rehabilitation Center, 100 Medical Center Drive, Commerce, GA 30529 or the Jefferson First United Methodist Church, 188 Martin Street, Jefferson, GA 30549.

Evans Funeral Home, Jefferson. 706-367-5467.

Online Condolences at www.evansfuneralhomeinc.com