Lois Swallow

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Lois Irene Carter Swallow, 85, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on May 15, 2025. Her faith in Jehovah remained strong until her final breath. 

She is survived by her two daughters Leslie Twiest, husband Brian Twiest, and Laurel Yarde, husband Scott Yarde; her five grandchildren, Amanda Caldbeck, husband Cobey Caldbeck, Lacie Hinkley, husband Owen Hinkley, Mathew Yarde and Brieana Inman, Taylor Twiest, and Asia Jackson, husband Jeremy Jackson; great-grandchildren, Coyie and Clay Caldbeck, Chandler and Beckett Hardy, Jayden, Logan and Easton Yarde, Layne, Eastyn and Finley Inman, Teagan and Tripp Sweet, Carter Twiest, and Ellis Jackson. 

She is preceded in death by her loving husband Clifford Swallow, who passed away in 2019, leaving Lois with a void in her life that could not be filled. 

Lois was born in St. Ignatius, Montana, on April 15, 1940, to Lloyd and Phyllis Carter. Her mother passed away very early in her life, and this loss would shape her life in many ways. She said that her mother always sang and read to her and instilled a love of books and music that was lifelong and enduring. After her mother’s passing, Lois and her family moved to Kalispell, Montana, and her father remarried Myrtle Barfoot Carter, a great friend to Lois later in life.

Lois met Clifford Swallow while in High School, she loved to recount the story of seeing “Kip”, as she called him, for the first time, tan and shirtless, and telling her best friend Monte Jean that she would marry him someday. She tended to get the things she wanted, and they married on July 13, 1958, and spent the early years of their marriage working together on a ranch in Pleasant Valley. Only a year later, they welcomed their first daughter, Leslie Joy, and four years after that, Laurel Lisa rounded out their family.

When the girls were little, Lois and Kip took them on adventures large and small. They recall riding motorcycles over makeshift bridges in Spotted Bear, jumping into icy lakes, and drying in the sun on large flat rocks. They took numerous camping trips and endless car rides. Once the girls got married, they included their new son-in-laws on perilous horseback rides, firewood-cutting trips, and countless other risky endeavors. 

When grandchildren came along, Lois never let an opportunity to pass on her immense knowledge go to waste. Every outing was used as a learning opportunity. She arranged many trips, exposing them to live theatre, museums, symphonies, and nature. She would often pick the grandchildren up from school, arriving hours before school pick up and reading in her car so as not to be late. 

This tradition continued once the great-grandbabies arrived, though the trips stayed closer to home. Lake MacDonald in Glacier Park became a frequent spot for campfire mac and cheese and skipping rocks. The great-grands remember being rocked to sleep countless times, scouring encyclopedias, looking through photo albums, and listening to old records.  

As the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren grew up and Kip and Lois had more free time on their hands they enjoyed long drives throughout the valley. They had a particular spot on Lake MacDonald where they sat and watched the water together with takeout chicken from a favorite restaurant. No one made Lois laugh like Kip, and she missed his sense of humor most of all.

Lois was a voracious reader, who loved history and poetry, it is not uncommon for people to tell family members that she was the most intelligent person they had ever met. She loved to share her knowledge of the Bible and could recite a scripture for any occasion purely from memory.  Many pen pals will greatly miss her. She loved to send and receive letters, and a fresh stack of greeting cards to disperse to friends and family was one of her greatest joys.

She had an affinity for gazebos and requested that her final home have a “gazebo room.” With help from the family, Kip made that dream come true, and this room was her favorite place to be. Lois was known for her generous spirit and she and Clifford had gifted parcels of land to their family at her urging so that they could remain close. She was neighbors with both of her daughters and several of her grandchildren. Lois was able to live in her “dream home” until her final days, a last wish honored by her beloved daughters.

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