Thelma "Karen" (Ballantine) Swinderman

Thelma “Karen” Swinderman passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Thursday, January 29, 2026, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Karen was the heart of her family and dedicated her life to her three children and six grandchildren. Karen was born to the late James “Buck” and Evelyn “Kay” Ballantine on October 20th, 1956, in Zanesville, Ohio. She was a graduate of Sheridan High School, class of 1974. On June 11th, 1983, she married Jack Swinderman Sr. and was a member of Hopewell United Methodist Church in Glenford. Karen lived her life for Christ and accredited Him for her many years of survival of such a heinous disease. She always said it was her faith and family that kept her going for so many years and helped her to keep the right mental attitude (RMA) she needed to fight as long as she did. Her greatest joy was watching and cheering on her kids and grandkids as they played their numerous sports and activities and having them over for sleepovers. A particular favorite family activity of hers was making her famous homemade noodles for Thanksgiving. A recipe and tradition that she was excited to pass on to her eldest granddaughter. The love she had for her family was evident to anyone who knew her. She was extremely proud of the lives and families her three children created, and she let them know it daily. Carrie, Jessie and Jack could always count on a daily good morning text reminding them of how much she loved them and to remember God loved them as well. Karen retired as a bus driver from Northern Local School District in 2020 after twenty-five years of service and reminding other drivers on the radio to look at the beautiful sunrise God provided them with that day. She loved her job and always took it seriously. She said it was important for her to be the first smile the kids saw every day because you never know what they are dealing with and a smile in the morning could help change a bad morning into a better one. That was the epitome of her life. She was always ready to offer a smile and words of encouragement to anyone who needed it, even when she was fighting cancer, she showed up for others. Karen smiled through every difficult turn of her illness and fought it head on, never asking “why me?” She showed her friends and family how to handle difficult situations with faith and grace and to never accept defeat. Karen is survived by her husband, Jack Sr., her daughters Carrie (Jason) Timko and Jessie (Mak) Dogbatse, her son Jack (Taylor) Swinderman Jr., her six grandchildren, Josephine and Parker Timko, Jordyn, Kindall, and Morgan Swinderman, and James Dogbatse, her brother Ken (Susan) Ballantine, sister-in-law, Betsy (Dane) Koehler, nephew Craig (Debbie) Ballantine, nieces Abigail (Marcus) Pardon, Hillary (Desmond) Ferrell, Katie (Trevor) Murphy and Tera (Mike) McCanna, and many great nieces and nephews. Friends may call on Wednesday, February 4th from 3:00-7:00 pm at Hopewell United Methodist Church 11742 Gower Rd, Glenford, OH 43739. Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 pm on Thursday, February 5th at the church with Pastor Victoria Burgoon officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery, Glenford. Memorial contributions may be made to the Genesis Cancer Care Center 2951 Maple Ave. Zanesville, OH 43701 Bope-Thomas Funeral Home in Somerset is entrusted with the arrangements.

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