Linda Swaim Buzzerd
1940-2022
Linda Lee Swaim (Clark) Buzzerd, age 82, a Berkeley Springs native, currently of Martinsburg, died of congestive heart failure on Monday, October 17, 2022.
Born Linda Lee Swaim, on May 7, 1940, she was the daughter of the late Roscoe Reed and Mary Emma (Hovermill) Swaim of Mountain Run Farm, Berkeley Springs.
A member of the Berkeley Springs Church of Christ until her move to Martinsburg in 2018, she was a current member of Central Church of Christ, 90 Waverly Court.
A 1958 graduate of Berkeley Springs High School, she attended Shepherd University.
She owned and operated the Sears Catalog Merchant Store, 1972-1982, in Berkeley Springs and opened Century 21 Real Estate, selling both businesses in 1982. After marrying Editor James Warren Buzzerd in the fall of 1982, she worked for the family’s newspapers, The Morgan Messenger and The Hancock News. While there she won several journalism awards from both Maryland-Delaware Press Association and West Virginia Press Association, the latter for her weekly column, Up The River.
In 1996, as a member of Cacapon State Park Foundation, she volunteered to form a group of chain-saw toting folks to clear the park’s 25 miles of trails. She affectionately dubbed them “The Chain Gang.” The Gang still meets every spring for Clean Trails Day. Some founding members of the Gang have died, some have aged-out and have been replaced by younger sawyers.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by husbands, Vernon Wayne (Bobby Joe) Clark and James Warren Buzzerd; a brother, Samuel Dennis Swaim, Berkeley Springs; granddaughters Cassandra R. Buzzerd; Lindsay Laine Buzzerd and grandson, Jeremy Warren Buzzerd.
She is survived by daughter, Kim (Clark) Brown (Craig), Bedford N.H.; and two sons, Andrew W. Clark (Michael) and Travis R. Clark, all of Martinsburg. Also surviving are stepsons James D. Buzzerd (Sandy), Longs, S.C., Todd C. Buzzerd (Bev), Largent and stepdaughter Elizabeth (Betsy) Hovermale (Rodney), Berkeley Springs. She is also survived by two brothers, Thomas R. Swaim (Janie), Berkeley Springs, Lowell E. (Jack) Swaim (Brenda), Winchester, Va.; two sisters Mary Jo Knight, Stuart, Va., Elizabeth Anne Johnson (Larry), Naperville, Ill. and many nieces and nephews. Surviving grandchildren are Kyra Brown, Liam Brown, Shelly Buzzerd, Allison Buzzerd, Morgan Buzzerd, Tiffany Hovermale, Derek Hovermale and one great-grandchild, Haylee Waugh. Services will be private.
She was cremated and her ashes will be spread at her beloved Up The River, her home beside the Cacapon River near Largent, where she lived and happily roamed for over three decades.
Memorials may take the form of contributions to Cacapon Resort State Park Foundation, 818 Cacapon Lodge Drive, Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 for park improvements, or Building Fund, Central Church of Christ, 90 Waverly Ct., Martinsburg, WV 25403.
Arrangements by Brown Funeral Home and Cremations, Martinsburg.
