Photo above of John Lee Swanay, probably taken in Los Angeles, California, c. 1930.

Taken from this website.

"Composer, author, and gourmet chef, Dr. John Swanay was a professor of music at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. He grew up in California, attended UCLA, and was a well-educated world traveler who was stationed in Germany while serving in the U.S. Army. He was also eclectic, eccentric, and a bit odd. At least, I thought so.

I hardly knew my uncle; he lived in Missouri, didn’t visit much, and died while I was still in college. To be honest, I never thought he liked me. Ironically, as the “family archivist,” I’ve come into possession of many of his compositions, photographs, and other items. He was married once, but had no children, so there weren’t many places for his personal effects to go after his death."

Three Killed In Dispute Over Couch

KANSAS CITY, MO. (AP) _ A restaurant owner, upset about the purchase of a couch, fatally shot his partner Saturday [January 5, 1985], then was killed by an employee - and the man's lover - who took the gun away before killing himself, police said.

A bystander was wounded by one of the owner's shots, police said.

John Lee Swanay, 60, and Belinda Murry, 27, co-owners of the Painted Lady, became embroiled in an argument over Ms. Murry's decision to put a couch in the restaurant, said police Detective Sgt. Jerry Fortney.

''Apparently, for some reason this upset him to no end,'' Fortney said.

Ms. Murry, of Leawood, Kan., left the restaurant and returned awhile later with her husband, he said. In the parking lot, the couple encountered Swanay and Mitchell O. Burroughs, 25, who were lovers and lived together in Kansas City, he said.

Swanay shot Ms. Murry in the head as she got out of her car, then fired several shots at her husband, who fled on foot to a neaby house to call police, Fortney said. Swanay chased the husband until he was tackled by Burroughs, who wrestled the gun away and shot the older man, before killing himself.

As Swanay fired at Ms. Murry's husband, whose name was not immediately available, he wounded a woman getting out of a car, Fortney said. Constance Ross, 43, of Mission, Kan., was in fair condition in St. Luke's Hospital with a stomach wound, he said.

The Painted Lady restaurant at 45th & Bell streets in Kansas City, Missouri, co-owned by Dr. Swanay, and where he met his untimely end on Saturday, January 5, 1985; ca. 1989

John and his family on the 1940 federal census. They were enumerated on June 3, 1940 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California and are on lines 14-18 of this sheet. John's father was a "letter carrier" for the United States Post Office.


California Birth Index

Name John Lee Swanay
Event Type Birth
Event Date 04 Jul 1925
Event Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Gender Male
Mother's Name Dunn


United States Census, 1940

Name Johnny Lee Swanay
Event Type Census
Event Date 1940
Event Place Councilmanic District 3, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States
Gender Male
Age 14
Marital Status Single
Race (Original) White
Race White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Son
Relationship to Head of Household Son
Birthplace California
Birth Year (Estimated) 1926
Last Place of Residence Same Place
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Isaac L Swanay Head M 45 Tennessee
Reba Swanay Wife F 39 Tennessee
Edna Fay Swanay Daughter F 21 Virginia
Johnny Lee Swanay Son M 14 California
David Brant Swanay Son M 0 California


California Divorce Index

Name Esther L Forsyth
Event Type Divorce
Event Date Sep 1967
Event Place San Mateo, California
Spouse's Name John L Swanay
__________________________________________________

California Birth Index

Name David Brent Swanay
Event Type Birth
Event Date 13 Jul 1939
Event Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Gender Male
Mother's Name Dunn


United States Public Records

Name Patricia Swanay
Residence Date 01 Jan 1995-01 Jan 2004
Residence Place Anaheim, California, United States
Birth Date 13 Jul 1939
Address 2544 W Winston Rd # F1
Address Continued Anaheim, California 92804
Possible Relatives David B. Swanay
Record Number 838673064

Click here for more information as to David's/Patricia's whereabouts. (Input - david b swanay.)