Community remembers political advocate

An area leader for every side of the tracks, controversial nonprofit and political advocate Mary Swartz died Tuesday, leaving her mark as a voice for those without a voice of their own.

Born 73 years ago in Ireland, Swartz came to the United States as a teenager, later served her adopted country as a U.S. Marine, and became a wife and mother of four.

Swartz was former chairman and treasurer of Craven County Democratic Party and had been active in District Democratic Women and precinct chair for Grantham District. She was a member of Havelock Annunciation Catholic Church and former board member of the N.C. Cancer Society. She was a Hospice instructor for Craven, Pamlico, Jones and Onslow counties.   

 “We have lost a great person and this county and this region will be impacted by that loss,” said Sabrina Bengel, a New Bern alderman. “She was a special person and deserves to be recognized.”

Veronica Mattocks, clerk to the New Bern Board of Aldermen, said Swartz ultimately stands out “for what she did for people, not party. She will be missed. There is no one who can replace her.

“At one time she was a Yellow Dog Democrat but in later years she started looking at people not by party and supporting the candidate she thought would do the job,” Mattocks said. “It didn’t matter to Mary if you were a Democrat or Republican; if you were right, you were right, and if you were wrong, you were wrong.” 

Bengel said Swartz was her first customer in her first New Bern job at Globe Travel Agency more than three decades ago as Swartz searched for a quick way back to Ireland for her father’s funeral.

“She was a Democrat and I was a Republican and, while our basic ideologies were different, we were very much the same,” Bengel said. “She supported me as a person and we became friends. She was there when my children were born, when my mother died.”

“Sometimes she supported issues more liberal than my conservative leanings so we just wouldn’t talk about it,” Bengel said.

A common ground platform came when “she would always fight for the rights of women,” Bengel said. “The work she did with hospice, and as a staunch supporter of women’s issues, that’s what made her so spectacular.

“She embraced the Catholic heritage of serving and loving those less fortunate,” Bengel said. “She tried to speak up for those who didn’t have a voice. She did that well for hospice and she was loved in the black community. She just loved people.”

Swartz had appeared well until a recent severe cold prompted her to get medical attention last week that revealed more serious problems that led to her death.

A funeral service for Swartz will be 1 p.m. Friday at Cotten Funeral Home Chapel. Her obituary is in the Thursday edition of the Sun Journal and at newbernsj.com.