Frank Swan

1947 - 2025

Bert, noted geologist|Frank Herbert Swan III, (Bert) of San Francisco, formerly of Barrington, RI, died on September 18, 2025, at the age of 77.



The third of five children of Frank and Virginia (Chace) Swan, Bert grew up cultivating both a deep love for the outdoors and a gift for creative problem-solving. One of his more memorable childhood capers involved commandeering every extension cord and garden hose in the neighborhood and rigging them to his mother's vacuum cleaner to create a homemade diving bellows for exploring the depths of the Warren River. He grew to be an avid angler, sailor, hiker, swimmer, camper - a genuine adventurer.



His passion for the outdoors and creativity manifested as a successful and fulfilling career as a Geologist. Bert graduated from Denison University in Ohio and received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland - although he always balked at being addressed as Dr. Swan. First employed by Woodward Clyde, he later helped found the consulting firm Geomatrix, a job that fed his thirst for adventure and allowed him to explore the world: Israel, Algeria, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and many more. An expert in Quaternary stratigraphy, fault mapping and writing up the results, Bert was a highly regarded innovator in his field, and the friendships he forged during his travels remained treasured throughout his life.



While highly accomplished, Bert always said that his biggest achievement and "the best choice he ever made," was marrying Linda Ann Vossler, his wife of 47 years. Together, they raised three children: Alli, Zach, and Jake, and later delighted in the love of seven grandchildren. Bert was a devoted father who shared his love of the outdoors and his adventurous spirit with his children. He was a patient teacher who cherished every opportunity to share the deep well of his knowledge and his skills - not only with his own children but with their cousins, friends, and anyone willing to listen.



Among the many lessons he imparted, perhaps the most enduring was that life can be savored with the simplest ingredients: a stretch of wilderness, a box of crackers, and maybe a can of oysters. And if complications arise - like a crucial missing washer threatening to derail a family bicycle trip - there is always a solution: find a ranger to shoot a hole through a quarter, and the adventure can continue. With Bert, creativity and resourcefulness were never in short supply.



Bert loved reading Hemingway, and the final chapter of his life unfolded like a real-life Old Man and the Sea, with Parkinson's disease as his formidable catch. Throughout this long and challenging struggle, he faced each day with the same determination and composure that had always defined him. As he began to lose his balance and adapt to dyskinesia, he even mastered skeet shooting at the Pacific Gun Club. When most men would have retired, he devoted himself to a photographic genealogy of the Chace family. Even when Parkinson's forced him to remain home bound, Bert never lost his optimism, humor, or his willingness to persevere, embodying Hemingway's words: "A man can be destroyed but not defeated."