Margaret W. Swaningson

Margo

A matching donation of $5,000 was recently made to Adventist World Aviation in honor of Margaret W. Swaningson, who died peacefully on Tuesday morning, September 27, 2016, after a lengthy illness. As you may know, MATCHING FUNDS are funds that are set to be donated in equal amounts to funds received from other donors. Therefore, are you willing to MATCH these funds in honor of Margaret Swaningson?

Most of the time, Margaret answered to “Margo.” She was born on May 1, 1930, to Lois Franklin Wuttke and Albert Wuttke in Minot, North Dakota, and was the third of four children. During the depression, the family moved often to find better work. As a result, she lived in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, all before she was 19 years old. At that time, she met and married Pastor Arthur Swaningson.

Together, Art and Margo settled in Maple Plain, Minnesota on a small farm where they raised their three children, several horses, chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys, as well as crops such as corn, soybeans, and hay. Art drove trucks for National Foods while Margo and the children took care of much of the farming. Upon becoming empty nesters, Art and Margo chose a life of evangelism and traveled the world on behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Margo played a big part in encouraging her son, Ric Swaningson, to be involved in aviation. She always had a heart for evangelism and service, and so when Ric became president of Adventist World Aviation in her later years, Margo was eager to be part of the ministry. She enjoyed helping out in the AWA office, answering phones and doing what she could to help the ministry run smoothly.