Addie Peed Swearingen
| Addie Peed Swearingen
(Beautician-turned-millionaire philanthropist) | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 25, 1904 Leon County, Texas, USA Resident of Portales, |
| Died | June 18, 2008 (aged 104) Resting place: |
| Spouse | William “Hub” Swearingen (died 1975) No children
|
| Religion | Baptist |
Addie Peed Swearingen (May 25, 1904 – June 18, 2008) was a former beautician who became a philanthropist to Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, and Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas. Swearingen and her husband, William "Hub" Swearingen (died 1975), became wealthy through purchasing land and mineral rights, mostly in Eddy County in eastern New Mexico. When petroleum and natural gas deposits were discovered on Swearingen lands, the income produced enabled Swearingen to become a benefactor of various causes.[1]
Swearingen was born near Centerville in Leon County in east Texas to John Oscar Peed (1883-1965) and the former Mary Lee Rodgers (1885-1980). The Peeds settled in the town of Elida in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, where she attended several rural schools and completed high school.[2] She attended beauty school in Roswell and worked for twenty-eight years as a beautician in the capital city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, thirteen of those years at the La Fonda Hotel. She lived with her mother until the family ranch was sold in 1979. She then settled in nearby Portales.[1]
Swearingen endowed scholarships to support students at Eastern New Mexico University in the fields of nursing, fine arts, accounting, and other academic programs. She donated funds for the ENMU pipe organ and displayed her own art collection there, including paintings by Peter Hurd. In 1983, she received the ENMU Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award. She was again recognized as the ENMU Foundation's Philanthropist of the Year in 2002.[3]
In addition to her support of ENMU, Swearingen contributed the first scholarship awarded to a female cadet at New Mexico Military Institute. She was also a donor to the music program at Church of Christ-affiliated Lubbock Christian University.[1] Her Addie Swearingen Foundation provides scholarships to assist high school students in Roosevelt County.[3]
Swearingen died at the age of 104 in a hospital in Clovis, New Mexico. She had been living in a convalescent center in Farwell in Parmer County in the Texas Panhandle. She was a member of the Portales First Baptist Church. She is interred at Portales Cemetery.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Addie Peed Swearingen. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (June 20, 2008; material no longer on-line).
- ↑ Illumination. Retrieved on May 1, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ENMU Honors Philanthropist of the Year. Eastern New Mexico University (2002; no longer accessible on-line).
