Cynthia A. Swanson

Cynthia Ann (Cindy) Swanson, 87, of Niskayuna, died June 22 at Ellis hospital, after a short illness.

Cindy was born in Jamestown, NY to Lloyd and Alice Mackie, and grew up in nearby Frewsburg. She was a stewardess for United Airlines, stay-at-home mom for a time, returned to work as an administrative assistant for various insurance company incarnations, and then retired after working 20 years in the patent operations office at General Electric.

She was a one-day Jeopardy! champion, encouraging her kids to “Look it up!” in the Grolier encyclopedia she earned on the show. Cindy was active in political causes including being a prolific writer of letters to the editor of the Gazette, served as a poll worker in her Hexam Gardens neighborhood. Her hobbies included sewing, quilting and gardening. She was an avid reader and a strict grammarian, not shy about correcting her family, friends, coworkers and even supervisors as to the correct use of language.

She was a talented piano player, often being asked to play when attending neighborhood gatherings. She was a rabid fan of both the Boston Red Sox (to spite one of her Yankees-loving sons) and Syracuse basketball.

One might describe her as a force of nature, and had taken up cursing as an additional pastime in her retirement.

She is predeceased by her husband, Ronald, and an older brother, Alan, and survived by a brother, Greg Mackie, of Frewsburg, NY, her children, Kristin Hogan of Syracuse, NY, Thomas, of Gloversville, NY Steven of Queens, NY, two granddaughters and a great-grandchild.

 if anyone would like to make donations in Cynthia’s name, either the Schenectady City Mission or The Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY