Arline Jessie Swaningson Franklin

Arline Jessie Swaningson Franklin

August 19,1924 to March 3, 2023

After a long illness Arline Jessie Swaningson Franklin passed away peacefully on March 3, 2023. She is survived by her sister Marilyn Swaningson Waldeck of Oak Ridge, TN, daughter Victoria Bedo and husband Andrew of Rosenberg, Texas, Douglas Franklin and wife Teresa of Rogers, Arkansas, grandsons Andrew Bedo and wife Shannon of San Antonio, Texas and Matthew Franklin and wife Whitney of Mountain Home, Arkansas. Arline had four great grandchildren Andrew Christopher Bedo, Grace Katherine Bedo, Emilia Layne Franklin, and Ellis Gentry Franklin. She was proceeded in death by her husband of 64 years, Emilio (Bill) Benjamin Franklin, her mother Jessie Louise Woodruff Hooker and father Arvid Vernon Swaningson. Arline was born on August 19, 1924 in Seaford, New York and grew up Garden City, Long Island where she met her husband Bill when she was 15 years old. Arline was one of 10,000 women who volunteered to serve in the United States Coast Guard Women’s Reserve known as the SPARs from 1944 to 1946. The acronym SPAR stands for Semper Paratus, Always Ready, which seemed to be at the heart of her life as she was always ready for a new challenge. After the war Arline, better known to her family as Grandmama, married Bill in 1946 and together raised a family, started a business, volunteered thousands of hours at hospitals, and traveled the world. Volunteer work was a touchstone of her approach to life. While living in New York, she served as the president of the volunteer chapter of United Cerebral Palsy of Long Island. Upon moving to Michigan, she took up the challenge of being a Girl Scout leader. After moving to Tennessee, Arline volunteered at Ft. Sanders Regional Hospital serving also as the hospital auxiliary President and Treasurer. Citing the more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service, the hospital put forward her name for the prestigious Covenant Platinum Award from Covenant Health, an award she accepted in 2001. Following her husband’s death in 2010, Arline moved to Texas to be closer to family. Again, she picked up the volunteer torch working at the Oak Bend Regional Medical Center in Richmond, TX., knitting caps and sweaters for newborn babies and volunteering in the pharmacy. Arline will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmama, dedicated volunteer, and an enthusiastic world traveler. A memorial service is planned for 11:00am, April 20 at All Saints Episcopal Church, 605 Dulles Ave. Missouri City Texas 77459. Internment will take place in Oak Ridge TN in early May. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the All Saints Episcopal Church Memorial Fund.

The family would like to thank Rosenberg Health and Rehabilitation and Highland Hospice for their kindness and care during the last few months.