DarlAnn Swayze Rial

DarlAnn Swayze Rial passed away on June 17 in Greenville, Texas at the age of 82. DarlAnn was born in Ashland, Kansas on December 1, 1936 to Bonnie Elizabeth (Ford) Swayze and Jack Herndon Swayze. She attended country school in Sitka, Kansas and graduated from Ashland High School in 1954.

DarlAnn attended Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas for two years and served as editor of the college newspaper before marrying Albert Dean Rial of Pampa, Texas on August 12, 1956 at the United Methodist Church in Ashland, Kansas. They lived in Bryan, Texas where she was employed at the Bryan Eagle newspaper while Dean finished his Geology and Petroleum Engineering degrees at Texas A&M.  Following her husband’s graduation, they lived in Snyder, Texas where he worked for Mobil Oil. After a call to active military duty in Fort Lee, Virginia, DarlAnn moved with her husband to Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado and Texas as Dean transferred from Mobil Oil to Tenneco Oil and Gas. DarlAnn was employed at various newspapers while raising four children.  She served 35 years as a Girl Scout volunteer at troop, district and council level programs in Denver and Houston. DarlAnn was an obsessive, creative writer of fiction and devotional books. Upon retirement, Dean and DarlAnn moved from Houston to Ashland, Kansas and finally to Seneca, Kansas where Dean passed away in 2014 after 58 years of marriage. DarlAnn continued to work in support of the renovation preservation of Nemaha County historic buildings as a grant writer-administrator. She was a passionate supporter of the Nemaha County Historical Society, managing the cataloging of museum artifacts and restoration of several historic buildings.  In 2018, DarlAnn built a granny-pod in Greenville, Texas where she moved to be closer to her family.

DarlAnn will be missed by many, but everyone who knew her realized she sought to serve her Lord Jesus Christ. She is survived by her four children: Robert Mitchell (and Maria) Rial of California, Michea Rial Ford of Texas, William Darl (and Kelli) Rial of Texas, Ann-Elizabeth Rial Smith of Texas; 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren; her three brothers: Jack Ford (and Jeanette) Swayze of Colorado and Charles Arthur Swayze of Kansas, and Jonathon Swayze of Kansas. She was recently proceeded in death by her sister Suzann Swayze (and Mel) Nelson of Montana.