Matriarch Lois Swoboda makes a ‘happy life’ out of music

From an only child, adopted at birth, to a mother of eight, grandmother of 28, great-grandmother of 16, and teacher to hundreds of piano, accordion and dance students, Lois Swoboda, 87, has created a legacy of motherhood and music.

On a recent afternoon, she sat at the piano and played an upbeat version of “Sentimental Journey.” She struggles with arthritis, but that wasn’t evident as she smiled and played.

In fact, she surprised herself.

“I wondered if I could play with these three fingers being so sore,” she said, holding out her swollen hand.

Then she beamed.

“But I did, didn’t I!?”

Indeed she did, to the delight of folks gathering for lunch at the rehabilitation center where she currently lives.

“I grew up loving music,” she said. “I love playing the piano – it’s just in me.”

And it’s been in her since she first sat down at a keyboard at age 6.

She grew up in the Logan neighborhood and attended parochial schools, graduating from Marycliff High School at 16.

“I was lonely, but my folks were good to me,” she said.

From piano lessons, she branched out into accordion lessons, followed by tap, ballet and ballroom dance classes. Anything musical seemed to come naturally to her. And whatever she learned, she soon began teaching to others.

“I taught accordion with Leo Filippini at the Guertian and Ross music store across from the State Theater (now the Bing Crosby Theater),” recalled Swoboda. “Then later I taught in my own studio.”

Saturdays found her at the Chronicle Building where she taught drama and ballroom dance.

At 18, she began taking the bus out to Eastern State Hospital where she taught ballroom dance to patients.

“I taught the men their part and then I’d teach the women theirs. On Saturdays, musicians from Spokane would come out and play for them, so they could have a dance together,” she said.

Almost every weekend evening she played for dances in venues all over the city. One venue became very special to her – the Sons of Norway, where she played for 14 years.

“That’s where I met Hank,” she said.

Hank Swoboda played clarinet and saxophone in the band and since he lived nearby, he began taking her home after performances.

However, she was engaged to someone else, and Hank had a girlfriend. They stayed in touch when Hank joined the Marines after high school, and when he attended Washington State University, he’d often fly home to see her.

Yes, fly. From Pullman to Spokane.

Hank was an avid pilot. He learned to fly before he had his driver’s license and kept a Cessna housed in a hangar he had built at WSU.

“He taught me to fly it,” she said. “One time I (flew) all the way home from Loon Lake.”

By the time he graduated, they knew they were in love.

“Hank was a musician, and he was so kind-hearted,” she said.

They married at St. Aloysius Church on June 28, 1952.

Her mother was not pleased.

“My mother was very possessive,” Swoboda said. “She didn’t want me to marry ANYONE.”

In fact, with her musical and dramatic talents, Swoboda admitted, “Yeah, I thought of Hollywood, but Mom would have never let me go.”

Instead, she and Hank settled into a tiny house on the North Side, and within three years had three daughters; Mary Kay, Susie and Linda.

Hank was also an only child and Swoboda said, “We were in agreement – we wanted a big family.”

They got their wish when Johnny, Georgia, Jim, Frank and Cathy came along.

When asked exactly how many children she wanted, Swoboda laughed. “I wanted what I had. It was wonderful!”

But caring for her large brood wasn’t without its challenges. For one thing, she’d never learned to cook.

“When I offered to help in the kitchen, Mom would say, ‘Go play the piano,’ ” Swoboda said. “But I had to learn to cook. I had all those kids!”

They soon moved to another small house on Wellesley Avenue, where they lived for 44 years. She continued to teach piano, sometimes up to 30 to 40 students a month.

She instituted a household chore chart, developed a demerit system, and every Sunday the family attended Mass at St. Charles Catholic Church.

“We took up a whole pew,” Swoboda said.

Family vacations necessitated two station wagons and a tent trailer. They often drove to see buildings Hank, an architect, had designed.

“We had so much fun!” she said.

A lot of that fun included music.

The Swoboda Family Orchestra made up of Hank, Lois, son Johnny and four of the girls, played and sang at venues all over town.

“Hank did the booking – he was the boss,” Swoboda said. “He called us the Swinging Swobodas.”

One of their most memorable gigs was playing at Expo ’74. They played every weekend right across the way from Les Brown and his Band of Renown.

Swoboda’s creative talent is evident in the younger generation. Two granddaughters dance professionally, daughter Georgia has taught music in private and public schools, son Frank is president/CEO of Corner Booth Media, son Jim is a regular in area theater productions and often sings the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Gonzaga basketball games. When he does, his mom is there to cheer for him – and her favorite team.

“I love watching the Zags,” she said.

She misses Hank, who died in 2009, and said the hectic years of child-raising went by too quickly.

“I wish I had them back again.”

She’s most proud of her music and her children. She offered these words of advice to moms for Mother’s Day.

“It takes lots of love and lots of patience. But you pray and you know what? It works out. It really does. I’ve had such a happy life.”