Laura Swain

Frankfort - Laura Ellen Buckner Williams Swain died unexpectedly on Christmas Day from a cardiac event. She was born to Raymond Vines Buckner and Mattie Mozelle Carter Buckner on March 19, 1951 in Ft. Benning, Georgia. A 1968 graduate of Walter F. George High School and 2001 Kennesaw State University, she dedicated her studies to art and art history. She married John McLarty Williams Jr. in December 1969 until he preceded her in death in 2007. In 2015, Laura married James Everett Swain, the love of her life. She was a member of the Frankfort Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, serving in many callings since her baptism in 1994. She lived in Oak Grove, Georgia from 1982 to 2011 before moving to Asheville, North Carolina, the home of generations of both sides of her family for centuries. In 2013, she met her husband James Everett Swain, her best friend and eternal love, and they quickly connected over their common interests in almost everything. After they wed, through years of weeding, planting, fertilizing, and tender-loving care, they converted a normal backyard into a marvel of beauty, life, activity, and peace, planting hundreds of irises and numerous trees (including their beloved backyard willow tree). The Two Foxes Forest Garden became a Certified Monarch Butterfly Waystation, filled with milkweed as the host plant of choice for the next reign of Monarchs. A talented artist, Laura drew, painted with watercolors, and made mixed media sculpture. Her art hangs in places of honor in the homes of friends and family. Music was a fundamental part of her daily existence. She played several instruments, especially the accordion and piano, and listened to live and recorded music with Jimmy almost every day. Laura was caring, eccentric, brilliant, creative, loud, hip, tenacious, magnanimous, profoundly-loving, and, above all, generous, helping multitudes of family, friends, and strangers with a leg up when they needed help. She is survived by her husband, James Everett Swain, her son John McLarty Williams, III (“Mac”) and daughter in law Mickelle Williams, her daughter Susanna Marie Williams and son-in-law Eric Perley, her five grandchildren Marley Xiomara Williams, John McLarty Williams IV (“Jack”), Calliope Marisol Williams, Arthur Perley-Williams, and Theodore Perley-Williams, and her father-in-law, John McLarty Williams, Sr. She was preceded in death by her parents. Laura will be profoundly missed. She is tenderly loved and will be remembered forever as our wife, Mama, Lala, Aunt Laura, Papa’s favorite daughter-in-law, and dear friend. Due to an increase in COVID, she will have a private family ceremony. A public Zoom link will be shared via social media and email. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Sunshine Center, the Josephine Sculpture Park, or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Arrangements are under the direction of Harrod Brothers Funeral Home & Crematory.

Tributes

Laura Swain

March 19, 1951 - December 25, 2022