‘Mother Swanson’ moved to New York City from Gaineville, Alabama, when she was 17.
Lucille Swanson had seven biological children, including Daily News printing foreman Michael Swanson, but she was “Mother” to many more over the span of her rich life.
“Mother Swanson,” given the name by the pastor of her Bronx church, died Oct. 10 at the Valley View Center for Nursing Care & Rehabilitation. She was 90.
Family members said her health started to deteriorate about three years ago, when she was admitted into the Goshen, N.Y., nursing home.
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Swanson was just 17 when she moved by herself to New York City from Gainesville, Ala., leaving behind 12 younger siblings.
“She wanted to move here for a better life,” her daughter Gail Adams said.
She was given her moniker after becoming an active member of Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church in the Bronx, becoming president of the gospel chorus and “touching the lives of all those she came into contact with,” Adams said.
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Swanson worked at Bloomingdale’s on 59th St. for 14 years until she retired in 1981, her daughter said.
The “master chef,” who started cooking at age 6, was best known for making mouth-watering treats like coconut cake, peach cobbler and fried corn.
“If you wanted to learn how to cook, she was always willing to teach you,” her daughter said.
Swanson is survived by seven children, eight grandchildren, four sisters and four brothers.
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