Eddie Elvis Swope

Eddie Elvis Swope A true renaissance man Eddie Elvis Swope, born in San Angelo, Texas, formerly of Addison, Ill., Bonita Springs, Fla., and Cleveland, Ga., passed away very peacefully on December 9, 2010, while sitting in a chair, listening to music, with two dogs sitting by his feet, looking at pictures of he and his late wife of 39 years, Charlotte Swope. He was 96 years old. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend to many, a Navy Veteran, Shriner, a chef, engineer; a true renaissance man. He is survived by his three daughters: Charlene (Scott) Schwar, Sharlene (Bruce) Duguid, and Cyndi (Bill) Mobley; grandchildren, Christopher (Jennie Tyma) Sisco, Stephen (fiancee, Megan Slater) Schwar, Joshua Shervy, Allison Duguid and Ehren Mobley and the apple of his eye, his great grandson, Adrian Anthony Sisco. He was preceded in death by his son, Edwin Swope. He was a unique and truly a self-made man. At the early age of 13, he left his family's ranch in San Angelo, Texas, where his family trained polo horses. He traveled the world where he experienced so many different adventures, including spending two years in the Navy during World War II, and on oil rigs in Alaska, Arabia, and India and then traveling to numerous other countries and states. Before moving to Florida he became a Shriner at Lodge 1098, Lombard, Ill. That was one of his proudest accomplishments. After the service and during his long life, he had several very different careers: Engineer, owner/co-founder of a large soil testing company located in Addison, Ill., serving all suburbs, as well as Chicago. He was the owner/operater of a very successful fish/steak restaurant, "Lucky Landing", in Bonita Springs, Fla. He and Charlotte owned and operated that restaurant for more than 18 years. He was the chef and Charlotte was the hostess. He was a great cook and made a mean steak ,along with twice-baked potatoes, hushpuppies, fried shrimp, filet of sole and grouper, just to name a few items. Key lime pie was also a special favorite of his patrons. Speaking of desserts, there wasn't a dessert he didn't like. No matter what he had eaten for dinner, there was always room for dessert. He loved ice cream, cobblers or a very special chocolate cake that was occasionally made by a close family friend. However, his restaurant was known for its great fish entrees, and people would be lined up outside waiting an hour or so, before the restaurant opened to experience the "Lucky Landing" fish special. No matter where he worked throughout his life, he was a mentor to many. People were continuously surprised at how much he knew and was able to do, especially with his hands. One of his gifts was that he was able to make friends easily, no matter where he went and no matter the situation. He had the ability to make people feel immediately comfortable. He was also one of the first in line to lend a helping hand when help was needed. He was also a very private and humble man, especially about what he had accomplished during his lifetime. People were always interested in learning about all that he had accomplished. People where in awe when listening to his stories and always learned something new about him personally. While living in Florida, they became aware of the Georgia Mountains through some close friends. It wasn't long after that they fell in love with the mountains and purchased their small A-frame house on the top of Blood Mountain for the summers. After totally retiring from Florida, they decided to move to Georgia full-time, where they had a home built and became active members of the Loudsville United Methodist Church; in the local bank travel groups; and by marriage became one of the designated spouse/drivers to accompany the other spouses on many of the "Red Hat" ladies adventures. As an engineer, he was always analyzing things to see how they worked and how things were put together. He loved to take things apart. There wasn't anything (motor or otherwise, for that matter) too challenging for him to take apart and try to fix. Give him some duct tape and glue and everything could be fixed. While he worked on these various projects was when he was the most patient as well as the most stubborn. He was going to get it fixed no matter how long it would take. Nothing was ever going to get the best of him? He felt that no one could do or fix anything as well as he could fix it and he was probably right. However, we do have a lot of lonely parts around the house that are waiting to find their final resting place. Besides being with his family, one of his enjoyments was also his love of animals. There seemed to be an exclusive network around the Swope neighborhood for lost or abandoned cats and dogs. No matter where he lived, animals just found their way to the Swope home and certainly enjoyed a very happy and usually very long life. When sitting in his favorite chair, reading the paper, listening to music or just watching TV, invariably one or more of them would be sitting by his feet, climbing on his neck, or trying to sit on his lap, patiently waiting for his attention. He never disappointed them. All of nature intrigued him: trees, birds, flowers, anything that changed with the seasons. He loved watching humming birds in particular, which frequented his home for long periods of time. He had four feeders, and one night had over 20 humming birds feeding at the same time. It was quite a sight. We all know how meticulous he was about his property, especially his lawn in particular. No one could ever cut it exactly how he liked it. Very manicured. He would spend hours on his favorite piece of equipment - his Kabota tractor. For many years he would walk or ride on his Kabota around his property to look at his trees, usually dogwood, trying to find those special branches that he could use to make his famous walking canes. Wherever he sat, there was usually a little piece of sandpaper, a piece of broken glass he used to take out any imperfections, and a little pile of sawdust by his feet. It had to be just perfect. Just as meticulous as he was about his lawn, he was also a very proud man about his appearance and it was always displayed in how he dressed. Whenever he was going out, he almost always appeared perfect in his matching pants, shirts, socks, shoes, caps, and turquoise belt buckles or some other jewelry. You get the picture. The outfit wasn't complete, however, unless he had a neatly folded kleenex tissue in his left shirt pocket. There will be many things that we will miss, but most of all we will miss those special intimate times we shared when the sun would start to set. He would look forward to our daily cocktail hour, along with a snack of some kind, and of course, conversations, which would also include his funny little phrases he would often say when he couldn't get the words out exactly the way he wanted to. Now, for the time being, when the sun starts to set, we will have those cherished memories to recall and know that he is still watching those sunsets and saying cheers to all of his loving family and friends. Probably with Momma and his favorite dog "Big Red" by his side. We were very blessed and honored to have shared so many wonderful years with a very special man like our Eddie Elvis Swope. Cheers, Poppa! Memorial services are scheduled for 10:30 AM Saturday, April 9, 2011 from Loudsville United Methodist Church. Rev. Don Maynard will officiate. Inurnment will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 9:30-10:30 AM prior to the service at the church. A Brunch will follow in Fellowship Hall. After the service, people are invited to join the family at the Swope home to continue the celebration and memories of Eddie Swope, 207 Mountain Meadows Rd. Cleveland, GA 30528.