Emma Swinney

God blessed us with the gift of Emma Lee Kendrick on April 14, 1926. Emma was born in Greensburg, Louisiana, the daughter of Ernestine (Earnestine) Elizabeth Jackson and James Kendrick. She did not have any siblings. Emma was raised by her grandfather, Richard Jackson. She loved to tell stories about her grandfather and his legendary attitudes about life and people. Emma inherited her instincts and high standards from him. She eventually moved to Texas where she met Thomas (better known as “Tommy”) Swinney. They were married on June 11, 1955. They moved to Denver in 1963. Their favorite song was “One In A Million You.”

Emma became stepmother to Tommy’s young daughter Avalyn, whom she considered her own. Avalyn married Willie Flowers and the couple had two children, Thomas (Marquita) Flowers, and Lauralyn (Kortney) Horton. Emma and Tommy became grandparents, and then great-grandparents to seven: Keilyn Flowers, Kendaisha Cox, Chatera Stone, Makenzlee Flowers, Zya Robinson, Kai’den Horton, and Kingston Horton (deceased). Emma and Tommy were married for 35 ½ years before Tommy passed away on January 5, 1991. Emma was also preceded in death by Avalyn on December 1, 2001.

Emma began her career in the medical field in Texas, where she was employed at the renowned M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1954 to 1963. There, she began the first of many lifelong close friendships emanating from colleagues, starting with Ethel Fleming in Houston, Texas. When she moved to Denver, she began working at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado, where she met Alleyene Menogan. They eventually became two of the first respiratory therapists in Colorado. Initially, the two of them did not like each other but when Emma saw a green dress that Alleyene was looking at in a magazine, the two quickly bonded over fashion. Alleyene and her husband Guffie became lifelong best friends with Emma and Tommy, resulting in the Swinneys becoming “second parents” to the six Menogan children, Annita (David Greene), Rossana (Lenwood Robinson), Kelle (Rene’), Robbyn (Bernard Celestin), Sean (Juliette Hemingway) and Ian. Emma was also the Godmother to two of the Menogan grandchildren, Faith Menogan and Imani (Celestin) King.

In addition to Ethel and Alleyene, Emma’s closest friends included Connie Williams and Vivian Smith (“the CONVIVIALES”), Natalie Sneed, Joy Reynolds, Phyllis Maes, and a host of others, all of whom predeceased Emma, but several of whose children are second generation friends.

Emma leaves behind to cherish her memory her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, the Menogan family, and many close “framily”, including Felicia Brooks-Hillman, Jason Anderson, Andriise Gertsner, Gayle Wilson, Earnest Derrough, and a host of others including many of the staff at Life Care Center of Aurora, where she spent her last days. In addition to loving fashion, Emma also loved cooking, known for her Louisiana shrimp and her famous pound cake, and traveling. She and Tommy loved to travel, frequently going back to Texas and Louisiana to visit, as well traveling to Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, and Hawaii among other places. She loved geography as a child which fueled her love of travel.

Emma was a very strong and caring woman, always willing to help others as evidenced by her caring for her family, her career in health care, and being a “second mom” to many. As Proverbs 31 states, “A woman of noble character who can find? … She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy … She is clothed with strength and dignity … She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue…Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also and he praises her … Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”