John Longworth Peabody Swift, always known as Jack, was born on May 4, 1922 in London, England, the son of Ethel Longworth of Prince Edward Island, Canada and Otis Peabody Swift of Lewiston, ME. He was brought to the United States at the age of 9 months and lived in Hastings on-Hudson, NY and other places in the United States and Canada before moving to Madison, CT in 1935.
After graduating from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in 1942, Jack Swift served in the United States Army Air Force in the Pacific theater during World War II. He was discharged as a captain in1946.
In December 1946, he married Frances Ellen Norton of Madison, CT. They had three children, and raised the family predominantly in Madison, CT and Khuzestan, Iran.
Swift graduated from Yale University in New Haven, CT in 1948 as a civil engineer. He worked as an engineer, planner, and manager on civil engineering, environmental research, and energy development projects in the United States and abroad from 1948 to 1998, living in the United States, Iran, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and traveling to dozens of other countries.
Swift summered in Georgetown at his grandparents’ cottage at Bay Point in the 1920s and 1930s, and he and Fran continued to vacation there with their children. In 1980, they built a house at Bay Point, becoming fulltime residents of Georgetown in 1982.
In Georgetown, he served for many years on the Georgetown Financial Advisory Committee and on the Georgetown Board of Appeals, and represented Georgetown on the Sagadahoc County Budget Advisory Committee. He was the president of the Georgetown Historical Society in the late 1990s, a leader of the GHS Building and Capital Campaigns, and a researcher and writer of Georgetown history. In 2007 he was named Georgetown’s Citizen of the Year.
Swift is survived by his daughter, Katharine Swift Gravino of Ipswich, MA and Georgetown, ME and her husband Robert Gravino; by his son John Norton Swift of Whittier, CA and Georgetown, ME and his wife Cheryl Swift; and by his son Peter Norton Swift of Albuquerque, NM and Georgetown, ME and his partner Elen Feinberg. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Timothy Gravino and his wife Tara Gravino of Lithia, FL; Corin Swift and her husband Rafael Adams of Cape Elizabeth, ME; Kelly Russell and her husband Scott Russell of Ipswich, MA; Nathaniel Swift and his fiancé Sarah Moeller of Chicago, IL; Samuel Swift and his wife Jessica Trujillo Swift of Albuquerque, NM; Benjamin Swift of Oakland, CA; Jesse Swift of New Bedford, MA; and Ann Swift of Albuquerque, NM; six great grandsons: Dominic Gravino, Joseph Gravino, Liam Russell, Dylan Swift, Finn Russell, and Henry Adams; a half- -sister, Marguerite Swift of Flagstaff, AZ and several generations of cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was predeceased in 1999 by his wife Fran Swift and in 2011 by his sister Kate Swift.
A memorial will be held at a later date. Arrangements are by Desmond Funeral Homes, Bath, ME. Donations may be made in Jack Swift’s name to the Georgetown Historical Society Endowment Fund, Georgetown Historical Society, P.O. Box 441, Georgetown, ME 04548.
To share your thoughts with the family, visit www.desmondfuneralhomes.com.
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