Devona Marie Swiggum

MADISON - Devona Swiggum of Madison passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at Oakwood Village, University Woods. She was 92. Born at home in Vermillion, S.D., on May 9, 1927, Devona was the daughter of Jens and Edith Hansen. She and her four siblings grew up on the family farm in eastern South Dakota. After leaving her rural roots, she moved to Minneapolis where she enrolled in Fairview Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1949. She went on to become an operating room nurse at Fairview Hospital and was known for her precision and attention to detail. She held that position until 1955 when she married Harley Swiggum, a seminarian from Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul. Starting their new life together in Madison, where Harley got an internship at Bethel Lutheran Church, they went on to have four children, all born in Madison and raised in Middleton. Our beloved Devona: Child of the prairie. Chores on the farm. Heart of a scholar. Registered nurse, then wife, mother, grandmother. Redeemer of furniture in cloth and wood, antique aficionado. Maker of clothes, patcher of holes, mender of broken things. Painter of walls and worlds. Master speller, gifted writer, occasional poet. Intelligent beyond words. The feeder, the cleaner, the birthday-cake baker. Raker of leaves, shoveler of snow, mower of lawns, tender of gardens. Nature guide and lover of birds. Student of scripture. Woman of Abigail Circle. Consoler of hurt, and fixer of tears. Known for her smile, humble and serving to all. Faithful, playful, devout. As if all this were not enough, Devona was the solid rock beneath the birth and life of The Bethel Bible Series, a mission she shared with her husband. Devona, our Dove: Radiant in spirit. Loving, caring, beautiful. We will miss you dearly. The family wishes to extend special thanks to the caregivers at Tabor, Hebron, and Covenant Oaks, as well as the team from Agrace Hospice for their skill, compassion, and loving care in the last years of our mother’s life. To us, you are angels. Devona was preceded in death by her husband, Harland Swiggum; parents, Jens and Edith Hansen; infant sister, Alice Marion; brother and sister-in-law, Harold and Olive Hansen; brother-in-law, Robert Mandsager; sister, Jean Burgess; brothers-in-law, Sylvan and Quinten Swiggum; and sister-in-law, Evangeline Davidson (Waldemar). She is survived by her children, Karla, Tami, Jeffrey and Douglas (Suelyn); grandson, Joseph (Sarah Halls); sisters, Dorothy Mandsager and Corinne Chilstrom (Herbert); brother-in-law, Lyle Burgess; and many nephews and nieces. A memorial service will be held at RESURRECTION CHAPEL, OAKWOOD VILLAGE UNIVERSITY WOODS, 6205 Mineral Point Road, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. Visitation will be held at the chapel from 10 a.m. until the start of the service on Thursday. A light lunch will follow the service in the Nakoma/Westmorland room at Oakwood Village. Burial will follow at Springdale Lutheran Church, 2752 Town Hall Road, Mount Horeb, at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Oakwood Foundation, Agrace HospiceCare, Bethel Horizons, or an organization dedicated to conservation, social justice or peace. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care 7435 University Ave. (608) 831-6761