Kermit R. Swanson

Kermit Ronald Swanson, age 75, of St. Peter died April 2, 2015 at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato due to lung failure. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 25, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Peter. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. St. Peter Funeral Home-Klein Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements. Family memorials will be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church and the Gustavus Adolphus College basketball program. Kermit was born at home in Clara City, Minnesota on January 27, 1940 to Emil and Margaret (Rykken) Swanson. He has baptized and confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Clara City. In adulthood he served on the Church Council and sang in the choir. In 1958 Kerm graduated from Clara City High School and then attended Gustavus Adolphus College where he graduated in 1962 with a degree in biology and a minor in art. In his senior year at Gustavus he married Janet (Swanson) Swanson, who had been a classmate. Upon graduation they remained in St. Peter for two more years. Kerm worked at Annexstad's Standard Station, assisted Professor Don Gregory in the creation of "Man and the Universe" for the Nobel Hall of Science at Gustavus and fulfilled his active duty for the Minnesota Air National Guard. He served as a medic in the Guard for six years. After leaving St. Peter they moved to St. Paul where Kerm worked for the St. Paul Dispath newspaper. After the sudden death of his mother in 1966, the couple returned to Clara City to help his father at the Clara City Herald. Two years later Kerm became the editor/publisher of the newspaper. He was forced into early retirement in 1990 due to rheumatoid arthritis. During his 31 years in Clara City he served on many civic committees, which included nine years on the Clara City School Board. In 1997 Kerm and Jan moved back to St. Peter. While here he served on the Church Council, was a member of the men's Bible Study group and served six years on the Planning and Zoning Committee for the city. He was a member of Lions for 49 years, in both Clara City and St. Peter. About seven years ago he became involved in restoring duck decoys. He figured in that time he restored over 300 decoys. Kerm also loved writing about his childhood in Clara City and recently had articles published in "Sr. Perspective". Kermit is survived by his wife, son Ric (Laura), daughter Heather, sisters Lois (Todd) Johnson and Kristi (Tom) Yard, granddaughters Marit and Sydney, nieces and nephews, and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents and many aunt and uncles.