Mirabel Sweet

Mirabel (Mo) Digel Sweet, 96, former longtime resident of Boulder, CO, passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023, while snow birding in Tucson, AZ.

Mo was born in 1927, in Bradford, PA, to Robert A. Digel, Sr. and Mirabel Hamlin Digel. One of five children, she grew up in Smethport, PA, and spent summers with her family on Round Island on the St. Lawrence River, fondly referred to “the River.” Following her graduation from Smethport High School, she attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she met John McCamey Sweet. Mo and John were married and enjoyed 65 happy years together.

Mo began her teaching career in Ann Arbor. When John was hired by the Atlantic Refining Company, they moved to Texas and then to Albuquerque, NM, where Mo continued to teach elementary school. This move would begin a lifetime of “following the oil” to locations around the western United States (Midland and Dallas, TX; Billings, MT; Casper, WY); Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Anchorage, AK. During the course of this time, the family grew to include six children – two girls and four boys – Anne, Patty, Jack, Bob, Tom, and Tim.

The family’s time in Anchorage, beginning in 1962, was momentous and filled with adventure. In addition to their own children, Mo and John welcomed two foster children into their home – Betty Lou and Howard Nunnally. The family survived the 9.2 magnitude Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. They spent many winter weekends at their ski cabin at Alyeska. In addition to skiing, the family also enjoyed fishing and camping in the great state of Alaska. John was directly involved in the discovery of oil on Alaska’s North Slope and also served in the Alaska State House of Representatives.

Through all of this Mo was the rock of the family home life, growing and nurturing six children, plus two foster children, managing home affairs and navigating unexpected adversity, from broken bones to the earthquake to a flooded basement during their first Spring Break-up in Alaska. Mo once commented that it took a great deal of creativity at times, with each child or circumstance requiring his/her/its own unique solution. She nurtured this same degree of creativity and ingenuity in her children.

Mo was an intrepid traveler, crisscrossing the country (occasionally on her own) by plane or car with anywhere from one to four, five, or six children – visiting the River and family back East. And there was always summer camping, with geology lessons and learning to fish and hunt with John, while Mo was the camp cook.

The early 1970s would include the first of many travels abroad for Mo and John, with trips to Russia (with the boys) and Switzerland. In 1973, they were transferred from Anchorage to Richardson, TX. They also purchased their first RV during this time.

In 1981, they were transferred to Boulder, CO, where John would retire and where they would remain for the rest of their lives.

From 1981 to 1986, Mo returned to her teaching background, working as a paraprofessional, as an academic assistant involved in the tutoring program at Fairview High School in Boulder.

Following John’s retirement in 1985 through the mid-1990s, Mo and John enjoyed many US and international trips, including Hawaii, a bike tour of Australia and New Zealand, a bike tour of Holland, travel to New England and Eastern Canada to enjoy the colors of fall, a tour of the Holy Lands and Greece, a cruise through the Panama Canal, exploring France and Germany by RV and bicycle, and another trip to Hawaii.

Mo was an avid swimmer, and both Mo and John remained active bicyclists well into their later years.

In about 1989, Mo and John began snow birding to Green Valley, AZ, in their RV. This would become a fixture of their lives until John passed away in September 2013, just a few months after they had celebrated their 65th anniversary in June that same year.

Mo, along with son Tim, continued to snowbird to the Green Valley/Tuscson, AZ, area until her passing. In recent years, Gilbert Ray Campground was a favorite spot for both of them. Mo was still camping until the end, although no longer the camp cook.

Mo took up needlepoint later in life and it became a passion. Many family members have been gifted with her detailed and beautiful creations. Later Mo and Tim collaborated in these creations, with Tim creating the designs, which Mo would stitch.

From childhood, Mo was an avid reader and often read late into the night before falling sleep.

The church and worship were an integral part of Mo’s life. Both Mo and John maintained lasting relationships with friends from Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Anchorage and St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Boulder. They also maintained lifetime friendships with others involved in the oil industry.

A family celebration of Mo’s life will be held on the St. Lawrence River and a graveside service for both Mo and John will be held in Parker, PA, in June 2024.

Mo was predeceased by her husband, John; parents, Robert Digel, Sr. and Mirabel Digel; sisters, Hannah Digel Potter and Anne Digel Potter; and brothers, Robert Digel, Jr. and Howard Digel.

She is survived by her daughters, M. Anne Sweet (George Hopkins) and Patricia Jane (Aiya John) Nakornthap; sons, John H. (Dorothy) Sweet, Robert M. (Sharon) Sweet, Thomas A. Sweet, and Timothy F. Sweet; granddaughters, Kelly Sweet (Christian) Booth, Patra Nakornthap, and Jillian Nakornthap (Jordan) Everett; great grandchildren, Elliott, Amelia, Cadence, Anya, and Jett; and many nieces and nephews and their families.

Contributions in Mo's memory may be made to Community Food Share, 650 S. Taylor Ave. Suite C, Louisville, CO 80027 ( https://communityfoodshare.or… ) or St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 3700 Baseline Rd., Boulder, CO 80303 ( https://www.standrewboulder.o… ) or a favorite charity of your choice.