DAVID SWANSON

1930 - 2022

SWANSON--David Shaw. On the morning of November 28, 2022, the world lost a very good man, who was deeply loved. David Shaw Swanson died peacefully with his devoted wife of sixty-six years by his side. He was born on May 17, 1930, in Mt. Vernon, NY to Albert Sigfried Swanson and Rebecca Jane Magrath and raised in Scarsdale, NY. He was active in the Boy Scouts growing up, and received his Eagle Scout. At Scarsdale High School, Class of 1948, he excelled academically and was on the varsity track team. He enjoyed working as a camp counselor at Camp Lanakila in Vermont during the summers. Dave graduated from Yale University, B.S. Ch.E. 1952, where he also sang tenor in several school singing groups. He continued his education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M.S. 1953. The second semester of his graduate work was spent researching in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he developed a lifelong fondness for his father's Swedish heritage. Dave was drafted into the Army in 1954, and posted at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver. One ski weekend in Aspen, he met his future wife, Ann Magarrell, a student at the University of Colorado, in a chance meeting on a chair lift. They were married in Denver, June 16, 1956. That same year, Dave's career began with The Procter & Gamble Company, where he spent the next 38 years. When Dave retired in 1992, he was a Senior Vice President and member of the Board, with responsibilities for worldwide manufacturing, engineering, distribution and purchasing. Dave believed that commitment to community service was key to living a full life. His most rewarding work was for Berea College. Other volunteer service included the Episcopal Church, Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, ME, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Dave's hobbies included making furniture and Swedish rya rugs, and writing. He self-published a personal memoir, as well as a book entitled, "Emil Landau, Surviving the Third Reich," based on his personal interviews with a Holocaust survivor who lived in Damariscotta, ME. Dave is gone, but his kind spirit will not be forgotten. He leaves behind his beloved wife Ann, four children, Sarah (Chris Kenyon) of Bethesda, MD, Linda (Edward Bair) of Atlanta, GA, Jennifer (Andrew Niemann) of Acton, MA, and David Jr. (Joanna Murphy) of Hillsborough, NC. He leaves one beloved sister, Margaret "Peggy" Newton of Kennett Square, PA, and six grandchildren, Tucker Bair, August Bair, David Niemann, Jack Niemann, Jessica Niemann, and Emily Kenyon.