Joan W. Swanson

Joan Deborah Swanson, of Duluth, Minnesota passed away peacefully at age 93 on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at her home overlooking Schultz Lake.

 

Joan was born on January 16, 1930, in Duluth, Minnesota to Edward Wahl and Olive Wahl (nee Swanson). Growing up in Duluth, she attended the Duluth Normal School, East Junior High, and Central High Schools.

 

As a young woman, she graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in Minneapolis and received her certification after training at Minneapolis General Hospital. Her career as a registered nurse included many years of employment at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth.

 

On February 23, 1952, she married Robert Swanson of Duluth, and they enjoyed 70 years together, raising a lively family of six children. They had successive homes in Chester Park, Congdon Park, Paine Farm, and Schultz Lake neighborhoods of Duluth, Minnesota; and enjoyed getaways with the children to favorite destinations including Kaanapali Beach, Maui, HI, and Delray Beach, Florida.

 

Throughout her adult life, Joan loved travel, tennis, golf, hunting dogs, spectator sports, and the many friends these pursuits generated. Notable associations included Longview Tennis Club, Duluth Kennel Club (past president), Duluth Retriever Club, Duluth Cathedral Girls Tennis Team (volunteer coach), Northland Country Club, and Duluth Congregational Church.

 

Among the fond family memories she created were pilgrimages to Hartley Field where she would train retrievers, in rainstorms Park Point to drive through giant puddles, and Canal Park letting monster waves crash over the car. She preferred rocky beaches where she could station kids far enough apart to throw rocks at the lake and not hit each other, it did not involve dealing with sand-encrusted offspring. She read cookbooks the way others read novels and for each child, she identified favorite meals that she would make even when one returned home as an adult.

 

She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Martin Swanson; parents, Edward and Olive Wahl; and her sister, Jeanette Cynthia Wahl.

 

Joan is survived by her six children, Ingeborg (Leonard) Overby of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, David (Kate) Swanson of Mendota Heights, MN, Brian Swanson of Denver, CO, Mark (Michele) Swanson of Celebration, FL, James (Lynne) Swanson of Edina, MN, and Barbara (Matt) Boo of Duluth, MN; 13 grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.

 

A Memorial Service will be held on January 06, 2024, at 2:00 pm at The Duluth Congregational Church. Joan’s family would like to thank the Gnesen Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Response Service for their assistance, kindness, and compassion over the years.

 

In honor of Joan’s life, memorial gifts may be directed to: Gnesen Volunteer Fire Department - 4505 Datka Road, Duluth, MN 55803.