Larry Swift

Larry Swift, 78, of Gilman, Iowa passed away on Friday, October 18, 2019 at MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa with family at his side following a brutal 3 ½ week battle with a sudden illness due to an abdominal blood clot. Services for Larry will be held on Friday, October 25, 2019 beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Laurel United Methodist Church. A visitation will be held at Mitchell Family Funeral Home on Thursday, October 24, 2019 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Memorials in Larry’s name may be directed to Laurel United Methodist Church or Central Iowa Straight Shooters. For more information or to send a condolence please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call (641) 844-1234. Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Larry and his family. Larry Eugene Swift was born March 21, 1941 to Earl and Mildred (Irons) Swift in Grinnell, Iowa. He attended school in the Laurel area and graduated from Laurel High School in 1959. He furthered his education at Marshalltown Community College and worked several miscellaneous jobs. He was united in marriage to his wife Carol Ann (Brown) and around 1966 they took over the business his father started and worked hard to turn it into his family’s business and Swift Greenhouses, Inc. still thrives today! They were longtime residents of the Gilman area where he remained after the passing of Carol in January of 2017.  He was a former member on the REC board and a longtime member of the Laurel United Methodist Church. Larry enjoyed life and gave his all in everything he did. He had the unique skill of being friends with anyone and knew no strangers. Larry and Carol took dance lessons for many years from Faythe Kubik and could be seen using those dance skills at many dances around Iowa. Larry continued attending “Senior” Proms even after Carol’s passing. He loved spending time and socializing with many special friends over the years. He enjoyed traveling on family vacations or hunting/fishing expeditions with friends. He was an avid hunter of deer, pheasants, ducks, bears, alligators…actually just about anything. Carol diagnosed Larry years ago with “huntingitis” and he never denied it or sought treatment. Larry started life as a Hawkeye fan but thankfully was cured of that by his grandkids. Because of that, the last several years were spent with his family attending Iowa State football and basketball games and taking the family to whatever bowl game or tournament game in which the Cyclones were playing. In fact, Larry adored his grandkids and loved spending time with them whether it be just hanging out, playing pool, board or card games or attending any of their activities, trap shoot meets or other sporting events. At this time the family would like to apologize to any and all referees/umpires/parents that may have been working at or attending any of these events. His driving skills competed with any NASCAR driver out there and his family would also like to apologize for anyone who may have gotten in his way. “Larry” and “patience” were never used in the same sentence. In his “retirement” years, he enjoyed running errands for the greenhouse, especially making lunch runs for his kids and other office staff after the closing of Carol’s Kitchen in 2016 and making new friends everywhere he went. His travels also included many trips to the House of Compassion to transport donated food items. He had a huge heart and was willing to share it with anyone that had the pleasure of knowing him. Left to cherish his memory are his three children: Scott (Mary) Swift, Todd (Kristin) Swift and Shauna (Jeff) Cook; seven grandchildren: Jordan Swift; Ashley, Nick and Alex Swift; and Mathew, Seth and Cameron Cook, along with honorary grandchildren, Caleb and Nathan Montz; and many others who fondly knew him as “Grandpa Larry”. He is also survived by his siblings, Mike Swift, Vicki (Gary) Brammer, Jeanne Swift and Becky Walkup; as well as his nieces, nephews and many cousins. He will be greatly missed by his family, church family, greenhouse family, communities in which he was involved and the many, many special friends he enjoyed so much! In death, he is reunited with his wife Carol, his parents Earl and Mildred, sister Joanne (Swift) Robinson and two nephews, Brandon and Kendall Robinson.