Hidalgo County New Mexico


William A "Bill" Swift II
October 7, 1928 - January 15, 1994
Bill was born October 7, 1928 at Ft Sam Houston, Texas where his Father was serving in the Cavalry. His dad went on to serve during the Boxer Rebellion. His parents were William A Swift I from Madison, Wisconsin and Ruth Robinson of Marfa, Texas.

The family was in Chihuahua, Mexico at the Cleveland Ranch when Bill was small and he became quite ill. (They think now that it was spinal meningitis.) His mother refused to let him come back to Mexico, so he lived with his Grandmother in El Paso for some time.

When he was 9, his mother enrolled him in the L A Military Academy which he attended until the war broke out in 1941. His parents had bought the Slash Ranch at Beaverhead, New Mexico by then and she decided it was time for him to come home. In the fall of 1942, he went to Phoenix to attend North High and roomed with the family of A L Moore (who owned A L Moore and Sons Mortuary there). He met his future wife Pearl at North High School. She went on to college in Colorado and he stayed in Phoenix with her parents and attended Lamson Business College after graduating from Glendale High School in 1947. They were married August 18, 1948 in Phoenix.

They moved to the Slash Ranch for a year and returned to Phoenix for about a year. After a time, they bought the Cienega Ranch with Pearls parents, May and Ted Robb. May moved to the ranch by herself until the rest of the family could come in June of 1952. Pamela Sue and Will were both born by then.

In 1958, they left the ranch and started a dry goods store in Bowie and a second hand store in Willcox with E L McCoy. They returned when he was needed to run the ranch again in 1964 when his father-in-law was ill. Ted died in 1966. Bill planted the first alfalfa in the valley in 1976. In 1979, he bought the Cienega Ranch from May and formed the Swift Land and Cattle Co.

He loved to hunt and fish and was an avid reader of western and Civil War history.

He adored his family and never thought of his in-laws as such. He was a good and gentle man.

He died of a heart attack at 65 years of age, only four months after the tragic death of his son.