Joe Robert Swain

CMSgt Joe Robert Swain, USAF (Ret.)

Graveside services celebrating the life of Mr. Joe Robert Swain will begin at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, September 23, 2021 at Kewanee Cemetery with the Reverend Dr. Mark Benson officiating. Interment will follow graveside rites. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements.

Mr. Swain, 102, of Meridian, passed away Monday, September 20, 2021 in the presence of his family.

He was born March 18, 1919 in Lauderdale, MS to James Al Swain and Mannie Danner Swain and grew up in the Kewanee Community. A 1940 graduate of Dixie Highway School, Mr. Swain attended East Mississippi Junior College on a Football Scholarship and was also a Basketball All-Star. After being drafted in October 1941, he joined the Army Air Corps. He was an airplane mechanic and crew chief on the P-40 and P-38. After serving 30 months in the China-Burma-India Theatre of operations with the 459 ^th Fighter Squadron, he was discharged in October of 1945. In November of that year, he married Anita Lowe Swain of Kewanee. They lived in Jackson, MS until he re-enlisted in the United States Air Force and moved to Memphis, Tennessee where their only child, Anita Jo, was born.  They enjoyed life in the military, living and traveling extensively in many states and foreign countries. Because of his professional skills, leadership abilities, and dedication to duty, Mr. Swain received numerous awards and citations which enabled him to receive the highest rank an enlisted person can receive- Chief Master Sergeant. Mr. Swain retired in 1970 with 25 years of active-duty service and moved to Meridian. After retirement, he worked for 11 years as a field representative with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

Mr. Swain was a member of First Christian Church and a former member of Trinity Presbyterian Church where he served three terms as an Elder. He was an active member of Exchange Club, Kiwanis Club, EAA Chapter 986, and Kewanee Fishing Club. He was an avid gardener and enjoyed hunting and fishing. In later years, he enjoyed helping his son-in-law maintain and restore his airplanes. At the age of 98, he had the opportunity to fly in a 1940 Stearman.

Mr. Swain was the last of his generation in his family. He was honest, unassuming, and valued his God, his family, and his country. Truly a member of the greatest generation, he will be deeply missed.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Anita Jo and Bill Ross of Meridian; nieces, Elaine Cunningham and Carol Ethridge; nephews, Al Boswell, Charles Boswell, Tommy Swain, Keith Swain, Ralph McDaniel, Wayne Culpepper, Gary Culpepper, Bill Perry, and Jimmy Hays.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Anita Lowe Swain; his parents, Al and Mannie Swain; his brother, Melvin Swain; and his sisters, Ruth Boswell, Myrtle McDaniel, Miriam Culpepper, Mary Gaddis, Velma Hays, Pauline Castle, and infant Helen Marie Swain.

The family requests donations be made to a charity of your choice in lieu of flowers.

The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff of Aldersgate for their exemplary dedication and compassionate care for the last six years. Also, heartfelt thanks to Sta Home Health and Hospice and Carleena Drummond and Tiari Clay.

Pallbearers will be Leonard Cobb, Robert Smith, and his nephews.