Martha Swing Obituary

Martha Nichols Swing

Aug 17, 1940 - Mar 23, 2026

The world lost an indomitable spirit when Martha Faye Nichols Swing, 85, of King, N.C., passed away on March 23, 2026, at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Martha was born August 17, 1940, to Louis Aubrey Nichols and Kathleen Meadows Nichols (later Kathleen Maxcy) in Winston-Salem, N.C.; the family lived in a much loved home on Anderson Drive. Martha graduated from James A. Gray High School in Winston-Salem. She was briefly married to Richard L. Swing.

Martha worked with dedication for her whole career at Western Electric Company, which became AT&T Technologies. The work took her to Colorado for several years before she came back to friends and family in Kernersville and Greensboro. Upon her retirement, she moved to King, N.C., where she built many good friendships and acquaintanceships.

Martha was a bit of a firebrand, and you might say she mixed with some people only as well as oil and water mix. She was a self-determined person who achieved the life and independence she wanted because she worked for them. She was very forthspoken, and a person would quickly know how she felt about them. That said, she was a caring person and often would express that care through action. There are many stories of her delivering food to those sick at home or stopping by to check on a struggling friend. Her care was not showy, but very sincere and heartfelt. When people visited her in her home, she would spend a good time talking to them from her kitchen counter while sports showed on a TV in the background.

The soft spot in Martha's life was the love of her furry friends. Over the years, she had several beloved Yorkies: Katie, Winifred, Lucy, and Pumpkin. These were her adored companions, often seen with her when she would get out to "galivant" around King and the surrounding areas.

Martha is preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Kathleen; sister, Loretta Ann Nichols Melton; nephew, Phillip Dean; nieces, Valinda Michelle Dean Sizemore and Emily Dean Hill; and cousins, Richard Evans, Linda Smith, and Rachel Hauser.

She is survived by an extended family including her nephew, Noel Melton (wife Britta); and several close cousins, Patty White (husband Steve, deceased), Iva and Floyd Thompson, Hugh and Faye Secrest, Jeannette and John Starbuck, Wayne and Barbara Secrest, Roland Hauser (husband of Rachel), JD Evans, Fred and Brenda Evans, Shirley Mitchell, JD Evans Jr., and Keith and Janice Evans.

No remembrance of Martha would be complete without acknowledging her many friends, who are too numerous to list fully. The family would like to give special thanks to Roger and Lisa Horton, the people of Parker Auto Sales (CW and Debra Parker, Tracy Apperson, and Linda and Jerry Ross), and the good neighbors of Arlington Court.

Martha will be missed.

The family will receive friends at Hayworth Miller Funeral Home in Rural Hall, 305 Bethania-Rural Hall Road, Rural Hall, NC 27045, from 2 to 4 p.m., on Friday April 10, 2026.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for memorial donations to the Friends of the Stokes Shelter (FOSS) at www.friendsofstokesshelter.com or (336) 914-9270 to care for animals in need.

Hayworth-Miller Rural Hall Chapel