Hedy Sophia Swenson

October 29, 1932 ~ June 2, 2018

Hedy Sophia Swenson, 85, Brandon, died Saturday, June 2, 2018, at her home.

Visitation with family present will be 5-7pm, Thursday, June 7, 2018, at Heartland Funeral Home. Funeral services will be 11:00am, Friday June 8, at Heartland Funeral Home, with visitation beginning one hour prior. Interment will follow at Beaver Valley Lutheran Cemetery.

Hedy Sophia Dementevas was born October 29, 1932, in Lithuania, to Alexander and Joanna (Wisenberg) Dementevas. At a very young age Hedy escaped from the Communists and Nazis and lived in a survivor placement camp in Germany. Hedy was able to travel to the United States as a teenager and settled at DeSmet, SD with her brother before moving to the Brandon area and marrying Eugene Swenson. They settled on a family farm northwest of Corson, SD. The couple had three daughters and Hedy worked very hard to raise them and work as a homemaker, gardening and vegetable planting on their farm. When the children were finally raised and in school, Hedy went to work for several different organizations, in the kitchen has a salad maker at the Brandon Steakhouse, the Corson Cafe, Citibank’s employee kitchen, and eventually went to work at ESI or Electronics Systems Incorporated where she manufactured circuit boards in the assembly line. This experience taught Hedy a great self worth for a person who never finished high school but was very determined to know how to speak and write in English. This was a job beyond all comprehension.

Hedy’s love for her family was endless. Although she believed that everyone must work for everything and earn it, she was also very generous and helping anyone who needed something. She enjoyed gardening; flowers of every type bloomed around her home. She still loved to raise vegetables and canned and make sure everyone had plenty of preserves.

Hedy’s faith was so important to her, having escaped from Nazi Germany. She maintained her faith when she migrated to the United States. She was a very active member of the Beaver Valley Lutheran Church and the Swedona Covenant Church. Her wish was for everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to share in the glory of God’s love.

Hedy is survived by her three daughters, Ingrid Briggle, Lennox, Donna (Jay) Schwartz, Brandon, and Marilyn (J.) Patzig, Sedona, AZ; seven grandchildren, Theresa (Adam) Aberle, Huntsville, AL, Amy (Matt) East, Lennox, Joe Schwartz, Brandon, Jenna (Ruben) Sanchez, Stephenville, TX, Jane (Jon) Grieme, Commerce City, CO, and Jackson Schwartz, Austin, TX, Mandy Aslesen, Mesa, AZ; eleven great-grandchildren, Austin, Alex, Aaron, Devin, Lexi, Madi, Carter, Braeden, Ava, Emma Jane and Owen; sister, Olga Nenortas, Cherokee, IA; one niece, Sylvia Nenortas; and three nephews, Viktor, Alex and Gene Nenortas.

Hedy was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; grandson, Jeremy Schwartz; son-in-law, Bill Briggle; brother, Alex Dementevas; and brother-in-law, Stacy Nenortas.

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