Dorothy Jane (Beard) (Johnson) Swearengin

The family of Dorothy Jane (Johnson) Swearengin (neé Beard) was deeply blessed to have had Dorothy as their mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.  She passed at age 96 of natural causes at Oceanview Assisted Living, in Newport, OR, where she resided for the last 8 years.  The family are thankful to have had the opportunity to visit with her during her final days, both in person and with face time visits from all 9 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.



Our Mom was born and raised in the Oregon City/Gladstone area, the next to youngest of six siblings. She attended Oregon City High School her first two years, then attended and graduated from Willamina High School in 1941. Dorothy was a shy and quiet woman, but she made friends easily.  She was a devoted mother who taught us our manners and always insisted that we accept everybody despite differences or faults.  Dorothy was deeply religious and was a member of the Lutheran Church for almost 70 years, the past eight at Atonement Lutheran Church in Newport and previously at Milwaukie Lutheran.



Dorothy liked to cook and can, and she enjoyed singing in her church choir.  One of the qualities of hers which we very much enjoyed was her wry sense of humor, her sense that no matter how tough things were, she was always able to laugh at herself. Her favorite pastime was sending cards to all her grandchildren, great- grandchildren, nieces and nephews for their birthday and every major and minor holiday.



After high school, Dorothy attended business school in Portland where she acquired her skills of typing, stenography, and bookkeeping.  Although non-military herself, during WWII she worked at a USO office in Seattle, where she met and married our father. They moved to Kansas City where she worked in the same office portrayed in "Saving Private Ryan" notifying families of servicemen who were killed in action. She continued to be periodically employed as a secretary/office manager until her retirement in 1970.



Dorothy was married to Carlos Johnson from 1945-1964, and together they raised 3 children primarily in the Coos Bay area.  Dorothy moved to Milwaukie, Oregon, and was married to Eugene Swearengin from 1967 until his passing 38 years later in 2005.  Dorothy was predeceased by husbands, Carlos and Gene; and all 5 of her siblings: brothers, Lester, Leslie, and William Beard; and sisters, Gertrude Blair and Ellen Knoop.  She is survived by sons, Steve (Newport, OR) and Scott (Karen) Johnson (Fresno, CA); daughter, Janice (Carl, deceased 2019) Tepper (Visalia, CA); step-daughter, Lisa Shogren (Salem, OR); 9 grandchildren, Lance(Kenna), Tiffany, Nicole, Troy, Jack(Alexa), Michelle(Pedro), Amber, Austin, and Alexis; 5 great-grandchildren, Makiah, Hunter, Mitchell, Mackenzie, and Jackson; and many nieces and nephews that she cared about deeply.



A private family interment was held at Willamette National Cemetery in Clackamas County on June 30th.  A memorial service is planned for summer of 2021, subject to social contact regulations, at Atonement Lutheran in Newport, please check back for updates.  The family welcomes your memories on the tribute wall above.