Audrey Lorene Swanson

Audrey Lorene (Ingram) Swanson was born on November 20, 1920 in Phoenix, Arizona, the second child and second daughter of Aurilla “Bonnie” (Graham) Ingram and Raymond Virgil Ingram. She lived nearly her entire life in Phoenix, attending grade school at Emerson School, and attending and graduating with honors from Phoenix Union High School.

Along with her mother, Aurilla, was born in Uvalde, Texas in 1900 (passed away in 1955 in Phoenix, AZ) and her father, Raymond, was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890 (passed away in1966 in Prescott, AZ). Her older sister, Aurilla Virgil Ingram (1916 – 2005), and two younger brothers, Raymond Ingram (1925– 1996) and Gerald Ingram (1928 – 2002) preceded her in death.

Starting in high school at age 16, besides being involved with high school choir, she obtained a clerical job with KOY, a Phoenix radio station that was part of the CBS network. It was discovered that she was an excellent vocalist and she soon became an on-air “celebrity” singer at KOY for her period of employment until June 1944, when she married John Robert Swanson. At KOY she was accompanied by a large number of excellent performers including a very young Steve Allen and a very young Gene Autrey, who both later went on to Hollywood to achieve entertainment fame. She sang with numerous big bands as they traveled through Phoenix in the pre-war and war years, and hosted her own radio show on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. titled Soldiers Serenade. She had quite a following with many soldiers and airmen writing her fan letters. She was much loved at KOY by employees and listeners, alike, just as she was by nearly every person who ever knew her.

As noted above she married John Robert “Bob” Swanson (1920 – 2006) on June 1, 1944 at First Southern Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona. John was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was a pilot, training pilots for overseas duty. Following their ceremony they honeymooned at the Grand Canyon. Following World War II, Audrey followed John to Arizona State College (now Northern Arizona University) in Flagstaff, Arizona, where John received a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and continued on for a Master’s Degree. To supplement the G.I. Bill benefits, Audrey worked in the ASC President’s office and they lived in married housing on campus, enjoying traveling in Northern Arizona and skiing, when they could.

They then moved to Urbana, Illinois where Bob began a Master’s program in Psychology at the University of Illinois. Upon graduation they moved back to Phoenix, and purchased their last permanent home in 1951, Bob was hired as an English and History teacher at West Phoenix High School, Audrey gave birth to Eric Linn Swanson on May 2, 1953. Shortly thereafter, John received a Ford Fellowship at the Center for Human Relations at New York University. They moved to Greenwich Village while John did his research on race relations, and Audrey tended to Eric. In 1954, they moved back to Phoenix where John resumed his 30 year career as a high school teacher and counselor in the Phoenix Union High District (along with summer jobs with Bell Telephone and Sperry Rand, and a four year stint as the Personnel Director for Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix). During the period of 1953 through 1965, Audrey was a stay-at-home mother. In 1965 she began school at Southwest Preparatory School to get training as a Medical Secretary, and graduated in 1966, and obtaining work with Doctor Jacob Lenzner, staying with that office for 15 years.

During this time period, Eric graduated from Alhambra High School in 1971, attended the University of Washington between 1971 and 1973, and, then, Arizona State University from 1973-1977, obtaining Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering, marrying Rexanna (Hamilton) Swanson on May 22, 1976 in Chula Vista, CA, which both Audrey and Bob attended, and moving to San Diego in 1977 to work as a civil engineer with the County of San Diego. Rexanna gave birth to Courtney on April 23, 1980, and Hilary on March 28, 1982. Audrey and Bob enjoyed many visits to San Diego to visit Eric, Rexanna and their grandchildren, and also hosted the “San Diego Swansons” dozens of times both at their Phoenix home as well as a mobile home they purchased in 1980 and held for over twenty years in Pinewood, south of Flagstaff. They split their time between Phoenix (winter and spring) and Pinewood (summer and fall) during this time, enjoying their lives together, and with their son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters when they were able to get together at one or both locations.

Audrey retired in 1981, and upon John’s full retirement in 1982, they enjoyed traveling to see not only the San Diego family but also to visit other relatives in the West, many times being in Santa Barbara and Saratoga, CA to visit Jerry Ingram, (Audrey’s youngest brother) and his son and daughter. She was an avid reader and enjoyed knitting, and was very good at general bookkeeping, as well.

Audrey and Bob were able to witness the 6th grade and high school graduations of the granddaughters in 1998 and 2000. Bob passed away from complications from pneumonia on November 10, 2006. Eric brought Audrey to Bonita, CA to live out her remaining years at Sunrise Assisted Care in December 2006. During that time she received regular weekly and biweekly visits from Eric and Rexanna, as well as many visits to First United Methodist Church in Chula Vista to special programs, and celebrating many family functions involving Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and other holidays as well as family birthdays and other events.

Audrey had numerous friends at Sunrise, including meeting a new love in her life, Marvin Sanders, at Sunrise, during which they had a “romance” for almost two years before he passed away in 2009.

Audrey passed away on November 16, 2011 in Bonita, CA. She is survived by her son, Eric Swanson, daughter-in-law Rexanna Swanson, granddaughters Courtney (spouse of Nikki Prescott) and Hilary Swanson, nieces Lynn DePaolo and Vicky Proctor, and nephews Gene Ingram, Bruce Ingram and Steven Ingram.

Audrey was a talented, smart, and beautiful woman who was a wonderful vocalist, and was excellent at every job she undertook, including being a loving, caring and generous daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, mother-in-law and grandmother. She will be missed greatly but will be loved in our hearts and minds forever.