Edna "Ruth" SwagerJan. 20, 1923 - April 5, 2008Edna "Ruth" Swager, 85, of Albany passed away peacefully Saturday at her home. She was born in Vincennes, Ind., to Victor Ross and Katherine Irene (Stokeley) Thorne. She graduated from high school in Vincennes in 1942 and remained there until 1945. During World War II, she worked in a parachute factory. Then in 1946, she moved to Portland to start a new life. She worked in factories and did private duty housekeeping. She married Robert Palmer and started a family. In 1961, she moved to Washington, and on Nov. 2, 1962, she married Heinrich Swager. Together they worked a farm, raising cattle, hay and vegetables. Ruth and Heinrich later divorced.Ruth also lived in Florence, Sweet Home and White Salmon, Wash. In 1976, she moved to Albany, where she remained to the present. She worked at Queen Hill Laundromat and also provided housekeeping and caregiving for several families in Albany. She attended Oak Hill Community Church.Ruth is survived by daughters Katherine Giddings and Lori Wallace, both of Albany; son Robert Fox of Los Angeles; sister Joan Hall of Mesa, Ariz; grandsons Joseph Abken, Maynard E. Williams III and David Fox; granddaughters Shannon Castro, Sarah Jones, Jennifer Wallace, Katelynn Wallace, Claudia Sanford, Tracy Fox and Kealani Burlington; and 14 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; sons James Palmer and Robert M. Palmer; daughters Sharon Seward and Victoria Palmer; sisters Alma Fithian, Hazel Downen, Jean Kurtz, Jacqueline Gray; and brothers Olin Thorne, Chester Thorne and Victor Thorne.A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Friday at AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home. A private burial will take place at Santiam Central Cemetery. AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home is handling the arrangements ( www.aasum-dufour.com ).