Dixie Gay Swa was born June 18, 1942, the daughter of Alfred Elmer and LaWana Nora Michaelson Swa. She graduated from Montpelier High School in 1960. She married Gunnar Norman Gunderson September 30, 1961. She died Sunday, May 13, 1984 at the Emanuel Hospital of Portland, Oregon, following surgery and was buried in  the Bay Center Cemetery in Bay Center, Washington.

She had been a South Bend, Washington resident since 1961, She was a member of the Willapa Harbor Hospital Auxiliary and many other local organizations. She owned and operated the Gundix Realty and the Enchanted Deli in South Bend. Her husband, Gunnar Gunderson, preceded her in death on May 9, 1982. She is survived by two daughters, Kirsten 14, Kari Ann 11; a son, Kristopher N. 6, all of South Bend; her parents; a sister, Barbara Hayes; a brother, Gary Swa, all of Montpelier; and a brother, Robert Swa of Soda Springs. Idaho.