Mary Jo Swift, daughter of Norma Redd Pierce, passed away on September 26, 2017 in her Salt Lake home after a twenty year struggle with the aftereffects of a severe case of pneumonia. Her courage and infectious optimism was an inspiration to all those around her. She is survived by her loving husband, Larry, her three beautiful children, Robert, Kirsten and Lauren and three precious grandchildren Alice, Lucy and Oscar, son-in-law Pete, three brothers and five sisters and their wonderful families. Mary Jo was born on January 16, 1949 in Salt Lake, received a BS in Biochemistry from the U of U and a MS in Marine Biology from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. She and her husband Larry were married on July 18, 1975 in San Francisco, CA. The family lived in CA, AZ, UT, South Africa, and settled back in UT. Mary Jo had a loving and adventurous spirit and left lifelong friends everywhere she lived. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends around the world.

Celebration-of-life services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sep 30, 2017, at City View Mortuary, 1001 East 11 ^th Avenue, Salt Lake City, UT.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Doctors without Borders.