William Pope Swift, III

William Pope “Buddy” Swift, III, 75, died peacefully on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at his home in Selma, Alabama, following a long battle with cancer.

Funeral services will be Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (formerly First Presbyterian Church) in Selma, Alabama with the Reverend Steve Burton officiating. The family will receive friends at the church beginning at 9:30 a.m., prior to the service. Burial will follow at New Live Oak Cemetery with Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home directing.

Mr. Swift was preceded in death by his parents; Cornelia Morrissette Swift and William Pope Swift Jr.; mother-in-law, Ruth Sammon Maxwell; father-in-law, Eugene Knox Maxwell and nephew, John Furniss Maxwell.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Marjorie Maxwell Swift; twin children, Ruth Swift (Scott) Newberry and William Pope (Bridges) Swift, IV; two grandchildren, Grace Ann Swift and Elizabeth Lea Swift and a sister, Frieda Swift Murfee.

Other survivors include brother-in-law, Charles Eugene (Emory) Maxwell and sister-in-law, Diane Maxwell (Jim) Richardson and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

The pallbearers will be Claude Anderson, Marvin “Bubba” Beasley, Reid Buster, Russell Buster, Rusty Buster, Coosa Jones, Bob Keys, Sam Kirkpatrick, Johnny Morris, Bill Porter, Mike Reynolds, Vaughan Russell, William Smiley, Stevie Tepper and Paul Underwood.

Mr. Swift was born on March 21, 1950, in Selma, Alabama. He attended Selma Public Schools and graduated from Albert G. Parrish High School in 1968. He attended Marion Military Institute and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alabama in 1972.

After college, he went home to Selma and joined the family business at Swift Drug Company. He became a third-generation owner and was proud to celebrate the drugstore’s centennial anniversary in 2016 and was honored by the Alabama Retail Association for this milestone. The drugstore closed in 2022 after 106 years due to his illness.

Mr. Swift was a leader in the community and an active member at First Presbyterian Church where he served as a deacon and later as an elder. He taught first and second grade Sunday school for many years and later in life he taught a young adult class with two of his close friends. He was a member and past president of the Kiwanis Club of Selma and was named Kiwanian of the Year for 1993-1994.

He was an avid sportsman who loved to hunt and fish and was affectionately known as “Captain Bud” by family and friends. In 2003, his farm was awarded the coveted “Treasure Forest” in recognition of outstanding land management of timberland by the Alabama Forestry Planning Committee.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either Sturdivant Hall Museum, P.O. Box 1205, Selma, AL 36702 or Summerfield Methodist Memorial Association, P.O. Box 387, Selma, AL 36702.

The family would like to thank Lucille Savage, Ella Hains, Mary Nelson, Maggie Lumpkin, Estelle Thomas, nurses at Southern Care Hospice and all the doctors and nurses who treated and cared for him during his illness.