Wellington Dixon Swindall
Wellington Dixon Swindall, 88, of Phoenix, passed away Sept. 5, 2011. A Phoenix resident since 1955, he was born April 8, 1923, in Lafayette, Ala., to the late Rosebud (Hill) and Yancy Swindall.
Wellington graduated from Stephen D. Lee High School in Asheville, N. C., then honored his nation by serving in the U.S. Army. He was honorably discharged April 9, 1946. He earned the Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Bluefield State College, Bluefield, W. Va., in 1949. He received a Master of Arts Degree in Political Science and Economics from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, and the Education Specialist Degree from Arizona State University. In 2004, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Bluefield State College.
He began a 47-year career as an educator teaching Business Administration at Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas, where he founded and conducted an Income Tax Institute for several years. There, he met the former Helen G. Pierson, and they were married in 1953. She preceded him in death after nearly 50 years of marriage.
After the Swindalls arrived in Phoenix, Wellington taught two years, then became principal of Palmdale Elementary School and later Sheraton Park School. After 38 years of service, he retired in 1989. He was selected Administrator of the Year by the Salt River Valley Music Supervisors.
He served on numerous local and state boards including the Arizona Principals' Academy, Arizona Department of Education Advisory Committee, Phoenix Housing Board and Phoenix Legal Aid Society. He was a charter member of the Arizona Council on the Arts and Humanities. He was a member of the NAACP, the Urban League and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Professional affiliations include Life Membership in the National Education Association, the Arizona Education Association, the National Society for the Study of Education, Arizona Association of Black School Administrators, Arizona School Administrators, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and Phi Delta Kappa.
