Charlotte P Swift

Charlotte P. Swift, 103, went to be with the Lord on 5/3/2024.  She lived her entire life in the Town of Orangetown.  Born to Britain McIntyre and Ethel Wellington Paterson on 1/13/1921, when Woodrow Wilson was still President, Charlotte was the fourth surviving child of eight close siblings who grew up in the ethnically diverse Tin Can Alley neighborhood of Pearl River.  Ethel, Brit, Fraser, Charlotte, Isabel, Jimmy, Jane and Babe, all natural athletes, were drilled in calisthenics each morning, in all weather conditions, by their father – a strict, unyielding taskmaster.  After their father’s early death during The Great Depression, their cherished mother worked as a cook in the school cafeteria, but the family never had enough money.  She raised the three youngest children while their mother worked. There were many days she went hungry, was cold, and had to share clothes with her sisters.  But they all played varsity sports throughout their high school.

At age 9, Charlotte chose to attend church and walked the 2 miles, alone, to attend the Pearl River Methodist Church.  She started teaching Sunday School at age 15, and brought her younger siblings and others to Christ.  She devoted her life to Christ and taught for the next 70 years.  Devout and devoted, Charlotte was also a choir mother and communion steward.  She prayed the Lord’s Prayer and recited the 23rd Psalm, aloud, until the very day she died,

Charlotte was forward on the 1938 undefeated Pearl River HS girls’ varsity basketball team at her high school.  She joined her teammates in 2002 when they were inducted into the PRHS Hall of Fame.  There was no 1939 season for that team, as the state education department changed the rules for girls’ sports and required girls to play only half-court basketball. The girls refused to water down their play and chose to end varsity play instead.  Charlotte graduated PRHS in 1939.

Hired by Lederle Labs as a temporary employee in 1940, Charlotte rose quickly through the ranks to supervisor, then manager.  Males she had trained to work in her departments were often promoted over her for years, although she was and remained one of the most respected, professional employees in the company.  The “temporary employee” retired as a department manager 44 years after her first day of employment.

An avid radio listener, Charlotte returned home from church on 12/7/1941 to hear that Pearl Harbor had been bombed.  Charlotte became one of the many young “Rosie Riveters” who labored during WWII to maintain production of life-saving drugs produced at Lederle and she worked to assist the war effort at Camp Shanks.  She moved to Camp Shanks after the war ended and, in 1951, married Charles Swift and moved to a new neighborhood in Nanuet.

Charlotte lived through the 1929 stock market crash, Prohibition, the Great Depression, five American wars, the rise and fall of communism and the Cold War, Prohibition, the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge and Palisades Parkway, the advent of television, computers, cell phones and social media, innumerable of her daughters’ school and scouting events, eighteen American Presidents, the creation of antibiotics at Lederle, space exploration and men walking on the moon, the World Trade Center bombings, the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other historic events.  She has, sadly, witnessed the decline of the values of decency, faith, patriotism and family in this country, and the decay and destruction of the criminal justice system in this state.  

Family was her highest priority, as it was for the 7 amazing siblings she survived.  She leaves behind daughters Jane and Charlotte Swift, grandchildren James, Jessica, Melinda and Brittanie, her beloved nieces and nephews, Gail, Douglas, Pearl, Bonnie and Britain (Paterson), Dwayne (Matern), Peter, Isabel, Phillip, James, Paul, and Annie (Wesel), Amy and James (Wingrove), Scott, Britain, Christie and Jacque (Yonker).  She was predeceased by nieces Betsy (Paterson), Patti-Jane (Wesel), and Mari-Alice and nephew James (Paterson).  She also leaves behind hundreds of church school children, many friends and extended family.

The U.S. has lost one of its greatest patriots, her family its matriarch, and the world a truly positive force for good. 

In lieu of flowers, Charlotte asks that donations be made in her memory to the Pearl River United Methodist Church.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Charlotte P Swift, please visit our floral store.