Cynthia A. Swanson

Cindy was born in Jamestown, NY to Lloyd and Alice Mackie, and grew up in nearby Frewsburg. She was a stewardess for United Airlines, stay-at-home mom for a time, returned to work as an administrative assistant for various insurance company incarnations, and then retired after working 20 years in the patent operations office at General Electric.

She was a one-day Jeopardy! champion, encouraging her kids to “Look it up!” in the Grolier encyclopedia she earned on the show. Cindy was active in political causes including being a prolific writer of letters to the editor of the Gazette, served as a poll worker in her Hexam Gardens neighborhood. Her hobbies included sewing, quilting and gardening. She was an avid reader and a strict grammarian, not shy about correcting her family, friends, coworkers and even supervisors as to the correct use of language.

She was a talented piano player, often being asked to play when attending neighborhood gatherings. She was a rabid fan of both the Boston Red Sox (to spite one of her Yankees-loving sons) and Syracuse basketball.

One might describe her as a force of nature, and had taken up cursing as an additional pastime in her retirement.

She is predeceased by her husband, Ronald, and an older brother, Alan, and survived by a brother, Greg Mackie, of Frewsburg, NY, her children, Kristin Hogan of Syracuse, NY, Thomas, of Gloversville, NY Steven of Queens, NY, two granddaughters and a great-grandchild.

Please no flowers, if anyone would like to make donations in Cynthia’s name, either the Schenectady City Mission or The Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY.

Online condolences at www.bondfuneralhome.com