Mardrey Fish Swenson of West Lebanon, New Hampshire | 1947 - 2024 | Obituary
November 18, 1947 - March 17, 2024
West Lebanon, NH -- Mardrey Fish Swenson passed away at the age of 76 on Sunday, March 17, 2024, after an episode of Alzheimer's-induced disorientation led her from her home into the embrace of the Connecticut River during the night. We will never fully comprehend what compelled her that night into the woods and waters she loved so much, but we take some solace that her last moments returned her to her spiritual home.
Mardrey was born on November 18, 1947, in Bridgeport, CT to Caroline Kusterer Fish and Chauncey Lauriston Fish, and spent her early childhood in Fairfield Connecticut with them and her older brother, Bill Fish, whom she always looked up to and admired. After her parents moved the family to Long Island for her middle school and high school, she attended Stony Brook University. Being a free spirit in the 1960s, her postsecondary academic career meandered (although she ultimately graduated with a degree in biology). However, her most meaningful experiences were working in the university computing center with the large mainframes of the day and being a manager and boat launch pilot for the men’s crew team (and occasional cox in training, since women were prohibited from competitions at the time). She also developed and nurtured a lifelong interest in the ocean and seashore, particularly along the Maine coast where she has family ties.
In exploring after college, she took turns working in a lumber yard, jockeying cars, and building sets for off Broadway plays in New York City. Around that time, she experienced significant relief from some persistent back problems via treatment by a chiropractor, and ultimately decided to attend chiropractic school at the National College of Chiropractic (now National University of Health Sciences) in Lombard, IL, where she met her future husband, Rand Swenson. Their romance blossomed near the end of their degree program in late 1976, and they were married in early 1977. Mardrey joined a chiropractic clinic near the school shortly after graduation, although she chose to stay home upon the arrival of the first of three children. She found motherhood to be challenging and was very grateful for the support of La Leche League, through which she found her life’s primary life’s work and abiding avocation. She became a group leader and applied her biology training to the study of breastfeeding, and ultimately international board certification as a lactation consultant.
Her patience was tested by Rand’s entry into a PhD program in neuroscience, by a subsequent family move to Tokyo, Japan (where Rand had a research position), by a move back to Illinois, where Rand completed a medical degree, and a move to Cooperstown, NY for an internal medicine residency. Her final move was to the Upper Valley in 1990, for Rand’s neurology residency. This move was fortuitous because of the outdoor opportunities it afforded and the chance for her children to flourish. She was appreciative of all that was offered by the Upper Valley, including the opportunity to attend the children’s sporting events, plays, and concerts, and to expand her engagement with the outdoors and the natural world. Fueled by fun and the companionship of many geocaching friends, she spent countless hours exploring the great outdoors and visiting areas barely touched by humans. She found peace walking in the woods and kayaking with friends to get a different perspective on the natural world. In her later years, while less mobile, she nurtured this feeling with friends and her beloved dog Gemma at Kilowatt Park in Wilder. The move to the Upper Valley also presented new opportunities to apply her life’s work. First by establishing and running a new La Leche League group and mentoring new leaders, and later by applying these skills as lactation consultant at the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital Birthing Center. She retired from APD in 2012, near the time that the birthing center at APD closed. At APD she had great joy in organizing courses and helping hundreds of new mothers to succeed in establishing a successful and rewarding breastfeeding relationship with their newborns. She continued to do this even after retirement as a La Leche League leader, and greatly valued creating life-long friendships with an online group “PowerSurge,” a fellowship of retired leaders.
Alzheimer’s disease slowly eroded her independence and capacity to enjoy most of her pastimes. However, it also lessened her inhibitions. In recent years, Mardrey could fill a room with her laughter, and when an upbeat or old, familiar tune played, she couldn’t help but sing along and dance.
Mardrey was predeceased by her parents and, very recently, by her beloved older brother William Fish. She leaves behind her husband, Rand Swenson, and her cherished children, Krister Swenson (wife Marie-Noelle Wurm) of Montpellier, France; Ingrid Swenson (husband Sam Tate and children Cooper and Maya) of Evergreen, CO; and Keith Swenson (wife Jessica Swenson and children Haley and Alison) of Lakewood, CO. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Carolyn Fish; niece Amy Fish (husband Ed Lott and children, Sarah and Abigail); nephew Dr. David Fish (wife Elizabeth Feeherry and children Caroline and William) and numerous cousins and in-laws.
We invite friends, colleagues, and family to gather for a time of visitation at Ricker Funeral Home, in Lebanon, NH on April 27th, 2024, starting at 2pm with a memory-sharing service starting at 3pm.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to her favorite charities: La Leche League International; the World Wildlife Fund; the Sierra Club.
An online guestbook can be found at legacy.com and rickerfuneralhome.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment