Lydia Sharon Savage Sweigart

Thursday, February 16, 2023, Lydia Sharon Savage Sweigart, of Fort Collins, CO, passed away at the age of 74, after an 11 year battle with Alzheimer’s. Lydia was born in Nyack, New York to LeRoy Savage and Ruth Isabelle Ida Swann on February 15, 1949, a belated Valentine’s Day gift. She grew up in Sparkill with her siblings, surrounded by a large extended family. Lydia was known for keeping her mom on her toes with her shenanigans. As a child, she was known for her love of comic books, spending hours in the bookstore reading them, only to walk out with simply one or two. In 1967, she finished her education at Tappan Zee High School in Orangeburg, NY and then went on to attend nursing school at Rockland State Hospital, graduating in 1970. She had found her calling! After a stint working at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC, she decided to follow in the military footprints of many other family members and joined the Air Force. She was stationed at Richards-Grebaur Air Force base in Kansas City, MO, where she achieved the rank of First Lieutenant. While in the military, she met and married the love of her life, Barry E. Sweigart. They settled in Kansas City, MO after Lydia was discharged in 1973. Lydia became an Operating Room Nurse at Menorah Hospital. She was an amazing nurse, gaining respect from even the toughest doctors. “Sweigart” or “Nurse Sweigart” they called her at her request. At a time when racial and gender inequity was widespread, Lydia’s calm, capable demeanor, and organization cultivated her reputation of being meticulous in the operating room as well as compassionate, loving, and respectful to her patients. She gave birth to her first child in November 1975, a son named Jeffrey Clifford Sweigart. Her second child, a daughter named Sharon Danielle Sweigart, came in July 1978. Lydia would have had a house full of children. She loved babies, and could not pass one in a parking lot, a store, or any public place without stopping. She would say, “I won’t touch your baby, but can I say hello?” She would then make silly faces and sounds, or play a game of peek-a-boo, inevitably eliciting a smile. And Lydia never met a stranger that she wouldn’t talk to. In her children’s younger years, they would get embarrassed at their mother’s openness and lack of concern for how others might perceive her but as they got older, they learned to recognize that this, THIS is what made their mom unforgettable. She loved and respected equally. She wasn’t going to take guff from people, but her nature alone rarely even invited such a situation. People loved Lydia, respected Lydia, and if nothing else, they remembered Lydia. Lydia was always involved in her children’s activities, which kept her very busy: Girl Scouts and violin for Sharon, Boy Scouts for Jeff. She was always organizing or accompanying some activity the troops had going on, not to mention regular meetings. She attended every concert, sporting event, and any school events her work and on-call schedules allowed. She created a loving home full of good food, baked goods at holidays, games, listening, laughing, and looking at the blessings of life. So many fond memories flood our hearts when family thinks of Lydia. In 1989, the family moved from Kansa City to San Jose, CA. She continued working as an Operating Room Nurse, at Fremont Hospital. She remained extremely involved in her children’s lives and activities. Sharon even managed to get a terrified Lydia on a horse. Oh, the things she would do for her kids, all in the name of her infinite love for them. She also had many friends that cherished the moments and memories that they shared together. In 1997, Barry and Lydia followed their youngest child to Fort Collins, CO, where Lydia once again established an unfailing reputation, first at a Denver hospital then at Poudre Valley Hospital in 1997. She eventually became the Chief Educator at PVH, and won the Florence Nightingale award. This award recognizes nurses that excel in their field. Lydia also busied herself in the community. She volunteered weekly at the food kitchen connected to the homeless shelter, as well as with other Catholic charities. She began quilting and fell in love with the process, creating beautiful quilts for her daughter and three grandchildren, among others. She was also very active at her church, First United Methodist. Lydia always had the utmost faith in her God. She lived every day as if he were guiding her to be the best version of herself that she could be. She welcomed her first grandbaby in September 2004, and she could not contain her love for that child. She was like a second mom to Lydia Jr., stockpiling years of memories with her before Alzheimer’s started to steal them away. She was just as present in Lydia’s life as she was in her daughter’s, a rock to lean on. Her second and third grandchildren, Naiya Kathleen and Ada Danielle, were born in 2013 and 2016, respectively. They were just as showered with love, although the memories were fewer as her disease progressed. She enjoyed just being with them, sticking her tongue out for Ada to smile at or offering her lap for Naiya to cuddle on. These are the memories of Lydia Sharon Savage Sweigart; this is who she was. The love she had for her family and for others. How she lived by God’s word of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The pure joy that she had for life, even in the face of its trials and tribulations. She was so beautiful, inside and out. This is how she should be remembered. After 50 years of marriage, she is survived by her husband, Barry E. Sweigart, her children, Sharon D. Sweigart, Fort Collins, CO and Jeffrey C. Sweigart, Las Vegas, NV, her sisters, Sheila Savage, Haverstraw, NY, and Shaheeda Muhammad (Shirley Savage), College Park, GA, two aunts, Lottie Swann Crawford and Mary Swann, as well as her beautiful grandchildren and a host of extended family. She is predeceased by her father, LeRoy Savage, her mother, Ruth Swann Savage, and three siblings, Doreen Cozart, Monica Watson, and Keith Savage. She will be forever loved and remembered by all the lives that she touched. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at First United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 18th at 1:30 pm MST. It will be live-streamed, if you are unable to attend in person. The link is as follows: https://vimeo.com/event/2983556 . If you wish to make a donation in her memory, please consider making it to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Lydia Sharon Savage Sweigart

February 17, 2023