From Donnie Marsh

I met Carolyn almost 7 years ago in Gainesville shortly after I had become friends with her daughter Jennifer. I was absolutely crazy about Jen (my apologies and congratulations to Tony) and when I heard that she had a 6'9" big brother, I sought to ingratiate myself with her family before making any kind of move. Ultimately this strategy involved playing months of Scrabble with Joffre at the Christian Study Center and taking a dreadfully boring class on John Calvin with Carolyn so I would get invited to dinner with the family at their house. The Swaits were all very kind to me, Carolyn in particular, as they humored my persistent presence in their home, and even after Jennifer's and my interest in eachother passed, I was a frequent guest for some time.

I have many great memories of sitting around the dining room table after devouring something amazing that Carolyn had made, watching her great family enjoy eachother. I loved sitting at the bar in the kitchen talking to Carolyn while I watched her cook. She was very smart, patient, and understanding; she reminded me of the Sister Wisdom that the book of Proverbs talks about, and whenever I read that verse I always imagine her as that character. I also appreciated that she did not consider herself above my sense of humor. One time, after teaching some of us to say the Apostle's Creed in Portugese, she then taught me how to say, "You are very beautiful. Please bear my children." I look forward to the banqueting feast in heaven when I will again look down the table at her, but the wait is going to be hard.

Donnie Marsh