Oddie Otness Swartz
Odlaug (Oddie) Otness Swartz, 94, died on June 13, 2017, in Mississippi. She was born October 3, 1922 near Kristiansund, Norway on the island of Smola in the community of Drynes to Fredricka Inga and Oscar Lars Otness. In the summer of 1923 her parents moved to Petersburg Alaska where her father was a commercial fisherman.
She graduted from Petersburg High School in 1940. After graduation she attended beauty school in Seattle, Washington and after receiving her license, returned to Petersburg to own and operate her own shop. She was active in Girl Scouts and volunteered as a trained nurse aide in Petersburg Hospital during World War II.
She married Robert Allen Swartz who was in the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in Petersburg.
They lived in Kansas, raising Aberdeen Angus cattle until 1954 when they moved to St. Louis, Oklahoma. From there, they moved to Columbus, Mississippi in January 1963 Oddie worked as Doster Hospital until 1969 when she tranferred to the new Lowndes General Hospital until retiring in September 1987.
She was preceded in death by her husband; sons Price and Dean Swartz; and siblings Margaret Barnard and Ralph Otness.
She is survived by siblings Nels Otness, Roy Otness and June Vick; children Roger Swartz (Paulette) of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Margaret Mistilis (John) of Oxford, Mississippi, Mary Evans of Tracy, California, Marilyn Moore (O.T.) and Larry Swartz (Debbie) of Columbus; 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Covenant United Methodist Church in Columbus on June 16.
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