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Letter to the editor

Caring for others was her way of life, and occupation

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published August 8, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Into her 93rd year, Annie Kate Swift made three square, home-cooked meals each day. Her specialty was chopped steak, cooked squash, and lots of fresh vegetables.

Caring for people was what she knew best.

Swift died Saturday at age 94. She was born in Boston, Ga., to a close-knit family of eight. When Swift was a child, her father died. In the early 1930s, she moved to St. Petersburg.

Swift worked in a dress shop, where she developed a sophisticated flair for fashion. Her sister, who worked in New York City at a Lord & Taylor store, would ship Swift fancy dresses in the mail.

At the shop, she met a family who needed a housekeeper, her family said. Swift started working for the family, cooking, cleaning and tending to the daily duties around the house.

She never had children of her own. But in an era of segregation, she found fulfillment being a positive black role model for her white employer's children, Swift's family said.

She lived apart from the family in her own home, but the kids would visit on weekends, Swift's family said. She grew close to them, and kept in contact through the years.

Swift wasn't strict or snippy. She was calm, laid back and had a sweet, funny personality. She'd spout off cliche, eggs-in-a-basket-type sayings, followed by, "I don't know what it means, but old people always say it."

She was petite - 5 feet 2, 105 pounds. But she could hold her own around the house, and always kept things organized and tidy.

Swift once took a class in flower arranging, and loved making big, colorful bouquets. "She loved pretty things," said her niece, Loretha Johnson.

Since childhood, she loved watching baseball. The Yankees were her favorite team, and she'd go to games while visiting her sister in New York. More recently, she enjoyed watching the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. And she never missed her favorite soap operas.

Swift belonged to social groups and served as an usher at First Baptist Institutional Church in St. Petersburg, where she was a longtime member.

Johnson, 56, had always visited her aunt on holidays and birthdays. But five years ago, she started caring for Swift permanently, spending time with her every day.

It was no trouble. Swift was her favorite aunt.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

Biography

Annie Kate Swift

Born: July 16, 1913

Died: Aug. 4, 2007

Survivors: Sister, Louise Norwood; niece, Mary Catherine Wright; niece, Loretha Johnson; many other nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Services: 11 a.m. Friday at First Baptist Institutional Church, 3100 3rd Ave. S, St. Petersburg.

[Last modified August 7, 2007, 23:10:50]