Texas S. Swanjord

Texas Swanjord age 79 of Balaton, MN died Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at the Lakeview Senior Housing in Balaton. A memorial service will be held 2:00 PM Saturday, September 3, 2011 at Sillerud Lutheran Church, rural Balaton. Visitation will be held from 4:00 until 7:00 PM Friday, September 2, 2011 at the Balaton United Methodist Church, and continuing one hour prior to the service at Sillerud on Saturday. A luncheon will be served immediately following the service, with interment at Zion Lutheran Cemetery taking place following the luncheon. The Almlie Funeral Home of Balaton is handling the arrangements. Texas Sabine Swanjord was born on March 31, 1932, in New Haven, Connecticut, to Robert and Vivian (Buckley) Sabine. After high school in Guilford, Connecticut, Texas went to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She and Gordon Whiteman of Guilford were the parents of Mark, Leigh, Kevin, Jason and Bradford Whiteman, and lived in Guilford and Madison, CT, where Texas was active in civic, educational, religious and business life. Texas and Don Swanjord were married on November 18, 1976, in New Haven. She received the masters degree in Environmental Education in Connecticut,and the masters degree in Counseling and the Ph.D degree in Rural Sociology at South Dakota State University. Texas and Don lived in Iran, Yemen, Kuwait, and Iraq where they taught and administered education programs at universities and for the U.S. State Department. Texas has lived permanently in the Balaton community since 1992; she taught counseling, sociology, and education at SDSU and SMSU. Texas was one of the founders of Community Nursery School in Guilford, Yankton Country School in Balaton, and Worthington Area Language Academy (WALA), where she was also board chair for several years. Since 2004, Texas and Don have been the proprietors of Balaton House Bed & Breakfast. A creative person, Texas enjoyed the challenge of artwork, cooking, writing, and making a home. Survivors include her husband, Don, of Balaton; son, Mark (Vicki) Whiteman of West Chester, PA; daughter, Leigh Whiteman (Jefri Ruchti) of Guilford, CT; son, Kevin (Karen) Whiteman of Madison, CT; son, Jason (Tracy) Whiteman of Oakland, CA; son, Bradford (Maria Sappe) Whiteman of Guilford, CT; friend Max (Stephanie) Peterson of Mankato, MN; friend Beth Hyams of Portland, OR; grandchildren Blake (Tim Roberts), Brittany, Nolan, Graham, Blayne, Brianna, Madison, Benjamin, Emery, Brin, and Bowen; great-grandchildren Kyla and Robin; nieces, nephews, other relatives and a host of friends.