Stuart “Stu” Swanson, 55, passed away at his residence in Rapid City on Sunday, September 15, 2013. Stu was born on October 29, 1957 in Dell Rapids, SD. He grew up on the family farm east of Dell Rapids. When his father, Warren, died in 1978, Stu took over the family garbage business in Sioux Falls. He then married Donna (Hofer) on May 19, 1984, and had two sons whom he dearly loved; Mike, 27, of Rapid City and Josh, 25, of Seattle, WA.
Stu was a chemical salesman for Mid-American Research Chemical for most of his working life. He was an Elder and Relocation Director at First Evangelical Free Church (now Parkview Evangelical Free Church) of Rapid City. He loved visiting with people and had a great quality of loving people unconditionally. He brought an upbeat and humorous attitude almost everywhere he went.
Stu battled arrhythmias and heart failure for the past 12 years. He received a heart pump in Rochester, MN in 2010, and a heart transplant in Oct. of 2012. His experiences with his heart pump prompted him to write a book called, “Living Without a Pulse.” Our family is also sincerely thankful to the donor, who gave so selflessly the gift of his heart so we could enjoy Stu for another year.
In his last years, Stu developed an even deeper empathy for others’ suffering and understanding of the transience of life. His experiences caused him to be clearly aware that this is not our final home and what we do in this life is small compared to what we do for eternity in our final home in heaven. He was thankful for our times together and looked forward to meeting his heavenly father.
Survivors include his wife, Donna Swanson of Rapid City; two sons, Michael and Josh; parents, Paul and Fern Tolly of Sioux Falls; siblings, Gordy (Lesli) Swanson of Mitchell, SD; Maggie Rezac and Cate Whitley of Sioux Falls, SD; Jon (Janell) Tolly of Jordan, MN; Steve (Tamee) Tolly of Sioux Falls; Becky (Kyle) Reinhiller of Harrisburg, SD; and a wealth of other family members and dear friends.
Stu was preceded in death by his father, Warren Swanson, and his brother-in-law, Paul Rezac.
A visitation will be held from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm on Friday, September 20 at Kirk Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, September 21 at Parkview Evangelical Free Church with Rev. David Greenhood officiating, with a light lunch to follow the service. A small committal service will be held at 10:30 am on Monday, September 23 at Logan Reformed Cemetery, five miles east of Dell Rapids on the Jasper Road; Kyle Reinhiller will officiate the service.
Memorials can be directed to the Swanson family. http://kirkfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/KirkFu1/obit.cgi?user=1098369Swanson