Jan Norris Swoope

JAN SWOOPE

Jan Norris Swoope, a life-long lover of the arts, horses, community and her family, died June 30, 2021 at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle in Columbus, Mississippi. She was 67.

Born July 24, 1953 to Camden Glover Norris and Lena West Norris, Jan was a life-long resident of Columbus. She grew up in the Baptist faith at Fairview Baptist Church, where her mother was a charter member. Jan graduated Caldwell High School before attending Mississippi University for Women.

She would meet her husband, Warren “Oop” Swoope, while visiting his family’s land in western Lowndes County. Their shared love of horses would draw them together, and they were married in 1980. That same year, they founded Rock Hill Stables on the land around their home, and for the following decades, as lead instructor, Jan would teach riding lessons to hundreds of students of all ages.

She trained for three years under the direction of Melissa Dunham, a graduate of the William Woods College of Horsemanship in Missouri. She also spent time training with Olympic dressage rider Melanie Smith and Olympic show jumping gold medalist Lendon Gray.
At Rock Hill, Jan helped produce multiple year- end champions in the Mississippi Hunter Jumper Association. She also taught horseback riding at Mississippi State and served on the board of the school’s horseback program.

Her love of the arts – and particularly music – drew her to the blues. Having previously written for Southern Equestrian Magazine, which she helped found, she found a passion for writing about music, and her columns were run in her hometown newspaper, The Commercial Dispatch.

In 2008, Jan took the position of Lifestyles editor at The Dispatch. She would hold the position for the rest of her life, winning first place honors from the Mississippi Press Association’s annual awards nine of the 13 years she led the section. At the paper, Jan was integral to the creation of the award-winning Catfish Alley, a quarterly magazine which focused on regional culture.
She had an interest in and love for Native American and Celtic cultures and was a two- time president of Soroptimist International of Columbus, a women’s service organization.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Edwin Riley Norris and sister, Beverly Ann Norris. She is survived by her husband, Warren “Oop” Swoope; son, Warren Dudley Swoope Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina; and sister, Marilyn Frances Norris of Bloomington, Indiana; as well as many beloved nephews and cousins.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 3, 2021 at 11:00 am at the 908 2nd Ave North Location of Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home & Crematory, with Reverend Curtis Bray and Reverend Lynn K. Barker officiating. Burial will Follow at Friendship Cemetery.

Visitation will be Saturday, July 3, from 9:30- 11 A.M. at the Funeral Home.