Nancy A. (Thompson) Swears

Nancy A. (Thompson) Swears November 11, 2012 Nancy A. (Thompson) Swears, 94, daughter of Chester G. and Olive Barnes Abbott, was born in Portland, Maine. She passed away on November 11, 2012 at Piper Shores in Scarborough, Maine. Nancy grew up in Portland and also lived briefly in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts and Detroit, Michigan as a child. She graduated from Deering High School and Liggett School before going to Smith College where she graduated with the class of 1939 with a degree in English Literature. In 1968, she received her masters degree in French from the University of Maine. During World War 2, Nancy worked in Arlington, Virginia deciphering Japanese diplomatic code where she met her first husband, James (Tommy) R. Thompson. Nancy moved back to Portland after the war and raised her family there. Many decades later, after the death of her first husband, she married Col. Clayton (Slip) Swears with whom she also worked during the war. Nancy was fluent in French, Spanish, and Latin. She taught foreign languages and became the Director of Foreign Languages for the Portland School Department. She then moved to the new Mt. Ararat High School to establish the foreign language program there. Her life was enriched through programs where she brought teachers from foreign countries to teach in the school systems where she was working. Many lifelong friends and family resulted from these guest teacher programs. Nancy was also very active on many charitable boards, including the Sweetser Children's Home. She was a member of the State Street Church in Portland. Nancy was an active and accomplished horse woman and a lover of dogs. Nancy was predeceased by her two husbands and a son, James R. Thompson Jr. Surviving her are her two sons and their wives, Gerald and Barrett Thompson of Falmouth, and Dana Douglas Thompson and Covi Sariego Diaz-Estebanez of Oviedo, Spain. Nancy's grandchildren are Heather Sanborn of Portland, Hillary Thompson of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Alejandro Thompson Sariego of Oviedo, Spain. She is also survived by her great grandson, Gavin Sanborn of Portland and by her step sons, Clay Swears, Barry Swears, Michael Swears and Robert Swears. Her sister, Mary Samp of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Mary's five children also survive her. A celebration of Nancy's life will be held at State Street Church in Portland on November 29th at 1pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Equest Foundation, PO Box 935, Kennebunk, ME 04043.