Elinor Swartz, a long-time resident of Roeland Park and Lenexa, died Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, at Lakeview Village retirement community in Lenexa. She was 102 years old.
She was born Oct. 12, 1922, in Burwell, Neb., to Harry and Jessamine Doran. Elinor and her large family lived in Burwell until they moved to Lincoln, Neb., during the Great Depression. In Lincoln she attended the University of Nebraska and later worked as an assistant to a state senator during a session of the Nebraska Legislature. In 1942, she and her sister, Dorothy, graduated in the first class of women to be trained as aircraft communicators and weather observers for the CAA (now the FAA). They were first assigned to a station in Douglas, Wyo., then transferred back to Lincoln where she met Earl Keith “Doc” Swartz, an air traffic controller for the Army. They were married in 1946 and later moved to the Kansas City area where they raised their three children.
In the 1950s, the family lived in Mission and belonged to St. Pius X Catholic Church where Elinor served as president of the Altar Society. At the end of the decade the family moved to Roeland Park where they were long-time members of St. Agnes Catholic Church. She was a volunteer Girl Scout leader during the 1950s and 1960s. Later she became a professional Girl Scout working for Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri for many years.
Elinor was an avid reader and enjoyed writing short stories about her childhood in Nebraska, memories of her brothers fighting in World War II and many other topics. She occasionally contributed her stories to the Lakeview newsletter, which she also helped edit. After Doc, her husband of 41 years, died in 1987, she bought a vacation home in the Lake of the Ozarks where she entertained family and friends for many years.
In addition to Doc, she was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Jack, Tom, Bob and Bill Doran; and her sisters, Dorothy Tarr and Marian Doran. Survivors include her children, Janet Martin (husband Nelson Martin died in 2023) of Greenwood, Ind., Barb Grigsby (Keith) of Lake Quivira, and Steve Swartz (Judy) of Lawrence; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
The Rosary will be prayed at 9:30 a.m. with visitation following until the Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 13615 W. 92nd St., Lenexa, KS. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, 8300 Quivira Rd., Lenexa, KS. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to: Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri, 10561 Barkley St. Suite 101, Overland Park, KS 66212.