Marion (Mimi) Swift (1940 – 2021)

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My sister, Marion (Mimi) McGinnis Fleming Eaton Swift was born Dec. 19, 1940 in an air-raid shelter in Edinburgh, Scotland.  She always hated that her birthday was so close to Christmas, so we would sometimes celebrate our birthdays together in June. Mimi was the youngest of four children and shortly after her birth, her parents separated. As single parents, neither was able to look after their children and the Church of Scotland stepped in and took over their custody.

In December of 2019, Mimi took her children (Laurie, Dan and David [with spouses] to Scotland. My friend, Larry Zwisohn, found the following article (from the BBC News) which was written by Steven Brocklehurst on December 14 of 2019. I’m not reprinting the entire article as it is quite long and I want to add pictures. I have sometimes add asides and they are in parentheses.

…When she was 13, her luck changed when film stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans discovered her in Dunforth, a Church of Scotland children’s home. On that day, Marion stepped forward to sing a song. Roy and Dale were so charmed that they wanted to bring the tiny (4’11 and 3/4″) girl with the lovely voice to their home in America…

She remembers her time in Dunforth, which overlooks the water at Newhaven, fondly, despite the home having a strict regime that made the children work hard. One of Mimi’s duties was to light the coal fire and prepare the house of Police Chief Willie Merrilees, a patron of the children’s home who raised funds for them to have parties and outings. It was Merrilees who brought the famous singing cowboy and his wife to the children’s home…

…The celebrity couple caused quite a stir when they checked into Edinburgh’s Caledonian Hotel dressed in white cowboy suits and matching Stetson, leading the golden palomino (Trigger) up the grand staircase. Wherever they went on tour, Roy and Dale always visited children in local orphanages and hospitals. And, Willie Merrilees was their guide as they went to Dunforth.

Mimi as Mom and Dad first saw her at Dunforth. Mr. Merrilees is behind and to her left.

Mimi says the Hollywood pair did a couple of numbers from their show for the children.  Then she (Mimi) sang a song called “Won’t You Buy My Pretty Flowers” for them. Later that evening, Dunforth’s matron told Mimi that she had been invited to see the show and even have lunch with the couple. Mimi ate wit Roy and Dale and then watched the show, which had been sold out for months, from the backstage wings of the theater. Afterwards, Dale asked if she would like to visit them in California for the summer….She was welcomed into the Rogers’ family and did not return to Scotland until she was married with a daughter of her own. The return was for an edition of the popular biographical TV show, “This is Your Life,” which was honoring The Chief Constable of Edinburgh, Willie Merrilees….

With sister Cheryl to show her the ropes, Mimi adapted quickly fo California life and was even a high school cheerleader. She got married to a boy from school.  “I was way too young,” she says. Her husband, Dan Eaton (who had Native American heritage), joined the Marine Corps and they were stationed at bases around the US (longest in Hawaii).After leaving the service, he was killed in a car accident when their three children were still young. Some years later, she married Bill Swift. They were married until he passed away a couple of years ago. Bill and Mimi made several trips back to Scotland. Mimi now has several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Left to right: Laurie, Mimi, Dan and David

Mimi says that she is still amazed that people are interested in her life. “It’s such an old story and I’m always surprised when someone brings it up,” says Mimi. “I think it encourages people to think that maybe there is a bright spot in their life down the road.  They just haven’t reached it.  There’s always hope,” she says… (end of article)

I know that going on that last trip to Scotland meant a lot to Mimi. She was bubbling over with happiness when they got back.  Other than her grandchildren and “the greats,” it was all she talked about for ages.

Mimi had retired from many years of working for the Palmdale School Board but she remained active as the current president of the Happy Trails Children’s Foundation in Apple Valley, CA.  She also was kept busy attending activities with her children, grandchildren and “the greats.”

She will be greatly missed by everyone who was privileged to meet her over the years. She was always bubbly, enthusiastic and talkative.  I don’t think she ever met a stranger (just like Mom).

She was a wonderful sister and I will never be able to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas without waiting for her to call to check on the correct oven temperature and time for the turkey!!