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Omaha Medical College provided private medical education from 1880-1902. In 1902, it joined the university system as the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. The year 1968 marked the transition to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. For clarity, “UNMC” refers to all iterations of the campus in this exhibit.
Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
Charles H. Swift, Sr., MD, the second of three sons born to Moses and Marcia Everts Swift, graduated from the University of Iowa Medical School in 1904. He initially practiced in Nahant, South Dakota, before moving to Crofton, Nebraska, in 1911. There he entered private medical practice with D. D. Talcott, MD, until his retirement in 1961.
Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
Lydia Rebecca (Reba) Willey Swift, RN, was the first wife of Charles H. Swift, Sr., MD. Family lore does not preserve the story of how they met, but Reba did practice nursing prior to meeting Charles. After their marriage, they moved to Nahant, South Dakota, where Reba worked alongside her husband in their clinic. Described by her four children as a “special, kind, and happy person,” Reba Swift died of cancer at the age of 56.
Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
The eldest son of Charles and Lydia Swift, Charles H. Swift, Jr., MD, served in the Pacific Theatre in World War II. After the war, he established his own medical practice in Crofton, Nebraska, four blocks from his father. He practiced in Crofton until his death in 1993.
Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
Marcia Catherine Swift Wigton was the third of four children born to Charles H. Swift, Sr., and Lydia Swift, in October 1909. After graduating as valedictorian of her Crofton, Nebraska, high school class, Marcia attended the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. She graduated from the first medical technology class in the college’s history. While working at University Hospital, she met Robert Swift Wigton, MD, and they married July 27, 1937.
Upon the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Dr. Wigton was drafted into the navy reserves. Marcia was eight months pregnant with their first child. Dr. Wigton was able to attend the birth and spend a couple of months with his young family until his deployment to the Pacific Theatre aboard the USS Solace. He would not see his son, Robert Swift Wigton, until his second birthday. Marcia took a picture of their son every day during her husband’s deployment, wrote a note about how they were doing, and sent that to Dr. Wigton during his service.
Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
Sharon Swift Rife, RN, graduated from the UNMC School of Nursing in 1958. In 1971, she was one of the first two graduates to complete a master's degree in Nursing, specializing in medical surgical nursing. Following graduation, she joined the College of Nursing as an assistant professor in the undergraduate program until 1990.
Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
