Marlene (Fitzpatrick) Swendsen

Marlene Fitzpatrick Swendsen, who had the foresight to be born on St. Patrick’s Day, ensuring a lifetime of celebrations, passed away peacefully at her home in Chandler, Arizona, on September 12, 2026, at the age of 88.Born in San Francisco to Tom and Helen Fitzpatrick, Marlene was the eldest of four and big sister to Gayle, Cheryl and Tom. A San Francisco girl through and through, she attended Epiphany and St. John’s, Presentation High School and Lone Mountain College.Her work took her from the San Francisco JCC and home health care to the San Francisco Ballet, where she served as Director of the Lower School, and the Contra Costa Ballet, where she sparked the imagination of generations of children and graced The Nutcracker with her original narration. In 1969, she received the San Francisco Examiner’s Most Distinguished Woman award. Wherever she went, she brought celebration, joy and a little bit of magic, along with an undeniable flair for the dramatic (whether she got it from the ballet or the ballet got it from her remains a mystery).On December 23, 1972, while Christmas shopping, Marlene asked a San Francisco traffic cop for directions to FAO Schwarz. Officer Mark Swendsen sent her the wrong way, and when she came back to tell him so, he offered to make it up to her over dinner. Fifty-three years of marriage later, it’s safe to say they found their way.Marlene and Mark settled in San Francisco, where their family grew to eleven “natural and supernatural” children, as Marlene liked to say. Even while juggling all those schedules and her work at the ballet, they opened their home and hearts to countless people in need, young and old. Summers were spent in Healdsburg, and in 1991 it became home year-round when Marlene bought her childhood dream home on the Russian River. She lived there until 2025, when she and Mark moved to Arizona.Elegant, devoted to her Catholic faith, and fiercely competitive, Marlene played Ping-Pong into her 80s and routinely beat opponents a quarter of her age. Yet she was all about other people: she cooked for them, shopped for them and, when she heard of someone in need, she either took on the work herself or rallied an army to help.She knew everyone, from grocery baggers, to Michelin-star chefs, to the staff at every bakery within 50 miles, where she stocked up on the “goodies” she paired with her tea every morning and night. She loved her family, her friends, a good joke and, above all, a good celebration. Throwing parties was her favorite way to bring people together.Marlene is survived by her beloved husband of 53 years, Mark Swendsen; her children Tressa, Mark (Jocelyn), Lani (Eric), Damien (Lisa), Heather, Heavenly (John), Ryan (Estefania), Alexandria (Terrence) and Roseanna (Christopher); her sisters Gayle and Cheryl and her brother Tom; and her grandchildren Alexander, Sierra, Brennan, Gabriel, Seamus, Nicole, Caitlin, Michael, Claire, Matthew, Emily, Pascale, Julia, Mia, Camila, Jose, Willa, Harper, Charlie, Andre, Wyatt and Lilly. She was preceded in death by her parents, Tom and Helen Fitzpatrick, and by her sons Benjamin and Haripal.A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 17, at 2:00pm at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Healdsburg.