Claire Swogger

Claire Swogger was born in Ragnit, East Prussia, in 1926. Her father had the misfortune to be just old enough to be enlisted in the army in 1914, and just young enough to be enlisted in 1939. When the Russian army with its practices of mass rape neared Ragnit in 1944, Claire’s mother made the difficult decision to leave Ragnit with Claire, her younger brother, and one suitcase of belongings, despite governmental propaganda to stay to the end. They reached Dresden and saw the massive burning of the city from a distance. They moved further west, and settled in a small town near Basel, where most of the family still lives.

With the encouragement of her mother, Claire emigrated to the U. S. in the fifties, working as an au pair and a secretary. She met Glenn Swogger Jr. in his last year of medical school, and they decided to get married. Both wanted to live in New York, so Glenn applied to internships and residency programs only in the city. Glenn found a cheap apartment on St. Marks Place, and one year later a five room rent controlled apartment nearby. Glenn and Claire were married at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church by Rev. Nesbit; nine members of Glenn’s family, in town for a conference, attended.

Glenn and Claire appreciated their families, but wanted to be independent. So they lived on Glenn’s $26 a week salary as an intern, and Claire’s much larger salary as a secretary and dispatcher for a trucking company. As the saying goes, “An intern lives by the sweat of his frau.”

Glenn and Claire were fascinated by the New York art world. Claire made collages for their apartment, and statues out of little pieces of wood. She also was fascinated by ceramic pottery and joined a group at Greenwich house that fired pottery, finishing at 2am, after which Claire returned home from the West village, crossing the Bowery, to our apartment in the East Village. New York was a safer place then. Claire continued her involvement in pottery in our years in New York. Her sign on the bottom of her work was RAAGNIT.

Claire also began to experiment with photography. She photographed bums on the Bowery, treating them with respect: they stood up straight, brushed their clothes, and showed Claire their medical summaries from Bellevue Hospital. They’re alive, interactive, involved with her and the moment. In following years Claire was a passionate photographer worldwide. As on the Bowery, she involved herself with her subjects. On trips she sometimes brought suitcases full of clothing to give to those she photographed.

When Claire and Glenn traveled together, he would scuba dive while she photographed. Sometimes she traveled with a group of photographers, or alone. She traveled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, India, Sri Lanka, Borneo, Hong Kong, Australia, New Guinea, Egypt, Turkey, St. Martens, Trinidad, and…

On moving to Topeka, Claire devoted herself to all the details of home care. At Christmastime, wearing a beautiful multicolored dress she had made, Claire, family and friends celebrated Christmas with a large tree adorned with burning candles in the German tradition. A local columnist who visited wrote “Christmas carols were sung, with Glenn’s mother playing the piano. It was a beautiful quiet time with no sound in the room but the singing, a time when a person could feel the real meaning of Christmas, a kind of magic that fell over the room.”

Claire’s photography won many local and some national prizes. She has also shown her work at NOTO and the Kaw Valley Bank. Her initial shows encouraged Bank employees to bring their own work to show on First Fridays. She also played a major role in the interior decoration of the West Branch, which includes large flower photos, water lilies—and a Warhol Indian Head Nickel painting. She saw to it that offices were decorated with art that reflected the officer’s interests and background. Her work at the Bank also included selection of TV ad materials—with emphasis on the comic, rather than overly serious and bombastic!

In short, Claire blessed everything she touched—especially her husband. He survives.

Memorial services will be held privately at a later date.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Friends of the Library and sent in the care of Davidson Funeral Home.