Leland Dean SWAN

SWAN, LONNING, CLANCY, GILSON, TACKETT, HUNTLEY, MARCHUK, SCHOONOVER, BAKER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 11/26/2008 at 11:15:44

August 3, 1921 -- April 17, 2007

Leland Dean (Lee) Swan, 85, of Hardy, passed away with his family at his side April 17, 2007 at the Humboldt County Memorial Hospital. Funeral Services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, April 21, 2007 at the Hardy Church located in the Humboldt County Historical Association Park with Sheryl Swan officiating the services. He will be laid to rest in the Vernon Township Cemetery, Hardy. Visitation hours will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home in Humboldt.

Leland Dean (Lee) Swan, the oldest child of Floyd and Gunda (Lonning) Swan, was born on Aug. 3, 1921, in Thompson, Iowa. Lee was raised on his parent's farm near Crystal Lake, Iowa, where he graduated from Crystal Lake High School in 1939. Until being drafted into the Army Air Corps in 1942, Lee worked at various jobs in the Crystal Lake area including farm work and driving truck. After being drafted in 1942, Lee went through initial Air Corps training in Florida and Oklahoma before being shipped oversees to the British Isles in 1943. Lee quickly was promoted through the ranks to become master sergeant in charge of the 394th Bomber Group Orderly Room. His Air Corps unit participated in the bombing of Germany, support of D-Day troop advancements, advances through France and the Netherlands, and support through the Battle of the Bulge. His unit was decorated by the French Government for the key actions it undertook in June through September 1944, in liberating France. In November 1945, Leland was honorable discharged and returned to his parent's home then to Renwick. There he started farming in the Renwick and Hardy areas. On Nov. 25, 1948, Lee married his wife of more than 58 years, Beth Clancy, in the Hardy Methodist Church. In 1950 Lee and Beth moved to Hardy and began a farming operation that will continue well beyond his death. During this time three children were born and raised in the Hardy area.

In 1974 Lee suffered the first of several heart attacks that would affect his health for the rest of his life. As a result, Lee and Beth purchased a home in the Tucson, Ariz. area in 1976, where the two have spent the winter months as "snow birds" for the last 31 years, enjoying many new friends and activities in this area. Over the years Lee has participated in various organizations including the American Legion, where he is a past commander of the Harvey McPeak Post; the American Farm Bureau; the Masons, where he was a past master; and the Order of the Eastern Star, where he was a past worthy patron. Lee was a long-time member of the Hardy United Methodist Church until the church closed several years ago. Since then Lee has been a member of the Congregational Church of Christ in Humboldt. Lee was an avid sports fan where he enjoyed playing baseball, softball, and basketball well into his thirties. He also enjoyed watching his children and grandchildren participate in sports throughout their early years.

Leland is survived by his wife, Beth of Hardy; daughter, Myral (Martin) Gilson of Mesa, Ariz.; sons, Mychael (Beth) of Farmington, Minn. and Marshall (Pamela) of Hardy; granddaughter Sara (Brian) Tackett of Farmington, Minn.; grandsons, Timothy Swan of Chicago, Jordan Swan of Minneapolis, Marcus and Andrew Swan, both of Hardy; two great-grandchildren; brother, Clare (Ruth) Swan of Warrensburg, Mo.; sisters, Lois Huntley of Tucson, Ariz. and Diane (Eugene) Marchuk of Westchester, Ill.; brother-in-law, Rex Schoonover of Guthrie Center; eight nieces and two nephews; one paternal aunt and one maternal aunt; a host of great-nieces and nephews and other relatives; and many friends in the Hardy, Renwick, Crystal Lake, Humboldt, and Tucson areas. Leland was preceded in death by his parents; brother and sister-in-law, Merril (Lois) Swan; brother-in-law John Huntley; sister Donna Schoonover; and a beloved niece, Debra Baker.