Memorial Service for George Clifford Swanson | Special Event

I welcome everyone to this celebration of the life of George Swanson. We're grateful that you're here. Let's begin with the word of prayer.

Our father we are thankful that we can gather here in joyful celebration of a life well lived and the race well finished and we pray that through our time of meditating upon the truth of the resurrection and the hope that we have as believers that our hearts would be strengthened and our witness and testimony would be Strengthened as well that you would be glorified through our time and our attention to these things.

We pray that all of the testimony that is given here concerning George would ultimately show how good of a God you are How gracious of a Savior you are and how you are able to keep your own even to the very end.

Thank you for your mercy to us and thank you for this time that we can rejoice together in Christ's name. Amen.

Opening Hymn and Psalm Reading

So several months ago after we sang the song the church is one foundation here in our corporate worship George leaned over to Julie and told her that growing up in the evangelical Lutheran Church They started every worship service with that hymn.

So we found it appropriate that we would begin today's service with the church is one foundation. So would you please stand together as we sing that song?

Is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is his new creation By water and the word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride. With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died from every nation.

Yet one or all the charter of salvation One Lord one faith one holy name she blesses Partakes one whole and to one hope she presses With every grace and to aids the.

Consummation.

Glorious eyes are shall be the church at rest Mystics with those whose rest is one.

Well, you may be seated if you guys would read with me the psalm 23 which is in the KGB there in. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. For thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

George Swanson’s Life and Family Legacy

George Clifford Swanson 91 passed away peacefully on Friday, February 23rd 2024 in San Puerto with his daughter Julie by his side. George was born on February 3rd 1933 in Helena, Montana to George Victor and Sylvia Basnet Swanson.

He attended Helena schools and graduated in 1951. He enlisted in the US Army and served in Korea. Back home. He attended Montana State University in Missoula graduating in June 1959 with a BS in business administration.

By September he had accepted a job as a management trainee with Carnation Milk Company in Spokane, Washington. His career with Carnation spanned 45 years taking him from Spokane to Sunnyside, Washington to Oakland, California from a trainee to branch manager and comptroller.

George met Juanita June Danby Howell while both were working for Carnation in Spokane and they married there on September 23rd 1961. Most of their married life. They lived in Pleasanton, California Where they were active in the Valley Community Church and George was able to indulge in this love of all things in the outdoors Hunting fishing hiking and skiing after retirement.

They continued traveling and spending time with family especially their growing tribe of grandchildren. In 2010 they moved to Kaiser Oregon to live near their daughter Margo and her husband Douglas. After when he was death in March 2020 George moved to Pend Oreille, Idaho to live with his daughter Julie.

George is survived by his daughter's Nancy Bob Willie of Centralia, Washington. Julie Martin of Pend Oreille, Idaho. Margo Douglas Rogers of Salem, Oregon daughter-in-law Colleen Howell of Goldendale, Washington 19 grandchildren 30 great-grandchildren niece Laura Bruce Day of Bremerton and several cousins.

He was preceded at death by his parents wife Juanita Son, Dr. Gregory Howell daughter Paula Howell son-in-law Stan Martin great-granddaughter Grace Murky.

Sister and brother-in-law Flo and Bill Anderson and niece Vicky Spore. For any of you that might want to know.

Those are the five Martin sisters. They were singing and playing My parents favorite hymn at their grandmother's funeral in 2020 and they would have all liked to have been here. To represent to honor their grandfather, but Lydia is the only one here today to do that.

So this was their gift to all of you and to their friend. My dad was one of the silent generation. According to Google this generation grew up experiencing the economic hardships of the Great Depression and witnessing the upheaval and challenges of World War two.

Due to their work ethic they benefited from the post-war economic boom. They were known for being resilient respectful loyal hard-working self-sacrificing financially prudent and having traditional values.

My dad and I were working together on the story of his life. Before his passing he dictated his first 30 years in 30 pages. I Suspect if we'd had time to finish he would have given us 91 pages or more.

Since some of you did not know George Swanson as well as his family did I would like to illustrate his character in his own words. First of all, George was adventurous. He loved the outdoors and growing up in Helena, Montana.

He and his buddies skied on homemade skis and roamed to the woods in his own words. During the summers of our seventh eighth and ninth grade years three of our group including Bruce's dog Went backpacking in the mountains around Helena.

We always went in July because there was no rain in Montana during that month. Our parents would drop us off in the mountains and several days later pick us up at our intended destination. The first few hikes lasted about a week.

Our final hike lasted 10 days. We hiked approximately 50 miles over the Continental Divide and met our ride home at a ghost town relatively near Helena. During all of our trips in this wilderness, we never met another person.

My friend Bruce always brought his dog and Dick brought a 22 rifle. We tried to limit our backpacks to no more than 50 pounds which consisted of a sleeping bag a Few food items and cooking utensils. We also took some fishing lines so that we could catch fish to eat from the mountain lakes.

The only thing we used for guidance were compass and forestry maps which showed the trails to follow. Many nights after dark I enjoyed stargazing. One night a porcupine entered our camp and joined me.

I scared him off with my flashlight. Looking back our parents had a lot of faith in us. I Liked to go skiing camping backpacking hiking hunting and shooting gophers. There was a good place to shoot gophers near the outdoor hot springs pools on the road from Helena to Butte.

We were about 13 and 14 and usually we rode our bicycles. One time my dad volunteered to drop us off we hitchhiked back with the three of us kids our rifles Bruce's dog and yet we still easily got a ride home in the back seat of someone's car.

We were all members of the junior ski patrol and enjoyed skiing together. We would report skiing accidents and sometimes sweep the trails after the tow rope shut down to make sure that no skiers Were still on the slopes.

By the way, my dad continued to ski and hike until he was 83 years old. George had a strong work ethic in his own words since there were no sprinkler systems during my youth. At the age of nine I got jobs watering lawns by hand for a couple local widows.

When I was 10, I started mowing lawns with a push mower and doing yard work. When I reached the age of 12 I got a job setting pins at the local bowling alley. I picked up the downed pins and put them in a tray with holes.

Then I pushed a lever to reset the pins on the alley. One time I was picking up the pins and a bowler threw the ball before I was able to set the pins. He hit me in the arm, which resulted in a charley horse, and I was out of commission for a couple weeks.

With the money I earned at the bowling alley. I bought my first bicycle. This was in 1945 right after the war and they had just started manufacturing consumer goods again. While working for the bowling alley someone approached my parents and asked if I wanted a paper route for a Butte, Montana newspaper.

So I quit my job at the bowling alley and for three years I had a morning paper route. In the summer, I rode the bike I had bought to deliver the papers. But in the winter, I had to walk my route in the snow and cold to deliver the papers.

When I was a junior in high school I got a job at the Union Bank and Trust Company as a part-time messenger since I had such high marks in school. My job consisted of mainly sorting the bank mail and then I took it to the post office.

Since the local branch of the Federal Reserve Bank was in Helena I also took thousands of dollars of poor quality paper money and occasionally gold bars to the Federal Reserve. I made all of these trips with no guard or anyone knowing I was carrying that much money on me.

I also manually posted checks, balanced the daily ledger and worked as a teller until I was drafted into the Army in 1953 after my 20th birthday. After returning from my tour in Korea, I bought a Chevy V8 car with the money I'd saved while in the Army.

I also used money repaid by my parents, which they had previously borrowed from me. I went back to work at the Union Bank and Trust Company where I worked for a year and a half until my friend Paul Convinced me to attend the University of Montana in Missoula.

I completed my three years at the University in the spring of 1959 and in September I started working for Carnation Company where I worked for the next 45 years. George was self-sacrificing in his own words.

In the fall of 1960 after working at Carnation Company for a year my co-worker Ernest suggested that I call up Juanita Howell and take her to a Saturday night party at Emma's Ernest Church. I didn't think Juanita would go out with me, but I called her and said, hi, this is George.

After a long pause, she said, George who? I said, well from Carnation Company. At the time she was nervous that I was calling because maybe she'd made a mistake at work. To my surprise she agreed to go with me and at the party we played the card game pit.

Juanita managed to always get the bear, the losing card. So I surprised her on Monday morning with an anonymous gift of a teddy bear. After that party that night she invited me to her home to cook some bacon and eggs and we talked until 2 a .m.

The next day I called her and asked if she wanted to go for a ride to Mount Spokane. She said, I don't have time to get a babysitter. I replied I planned to take the whole family including her three children.

On the trip to Mount Spokane I got along well with Juanita's children. I was a lonely old bachelor. So I frequently had dates with the whole family. After putting the children to bed, we would watch TV or listen to music on the hi-fi.

I ended up spending almost all of my evenings with Juanita and the children. I took my TV set and hi-fi to her house since she had neither. She eventually complained that she couldn't afford to feed me.

So I started going with the family every Friday night to do the grocery shopping for the next week. In October of 1960, I asked Juanita if she would marry me. I promised Juanita that I would treat her three children as my own, but I also wanted biological children.

She agreed to only two more children because she had had enough of this pregnancy business. We both kept our promises to each other. I felt elated to marry this beautiful and talented woman. For your information, so that they could carry on their father's name.

My father did not legally adopt Nancy, Greg, and Paula. He always treated them as his own children and they are receiving an equal portion of his estate. George lived by traditional values. My father was committed even though he did not wear his faith on his sleeve.

In his own words, as long as I can remember every Sunday morning. My parents took me to Sunday school and after my confirmation I continued to attend St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Helena, Montana.

Because my dad did not drive in the wintertime. We trudged through the snow to attend church services even when it was below zero. I became a Christian through this influence of my parents. I was baptized as an infant but later re-baptized in 1971 as an adult.

In Sunnyside, Washington at the First Brethren Church. Some of the things that influenced me most were not what my parents did. But what they did not do. My parents never smoked, never drank liquor, never used profanity.

And never argued in front of my sister and me. Because of their example, I never smoked, never drank liquor, and never swore. My parents showed me love, good care, and gave me a lot of independence. Not long after Juanita and I started dating I asked her to take me to church with her.

She and the children attended the Free Methodist Church in Opportunity, Washington near Spokane. She apologized that her church was meeting in a garage. And not in the church buildings I was used to attending.

I told her it did not make any difference to me where we met. Before long, Juanita's pastor and our friends started asking me When are you going to get married? George was a loyal man and a man of integrity.

I want to end this tribute by honoring our father for his loyalty and integrity. Being loyal is showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution. Dad was loyal to his parents, his employer, his children, his faith, and especially to my mother.

The last few years of his life were challenging as his body began rapidly deteriorating. He was lonely without his bride. And having been so active and independent, he struggled with his physical limitations.

But he was still committed to providing financially for his heirs. Attending his local church and providing a beautiful home for Josiah and I. This generation of men and women is quickly moving off the scene to their eternal home.

But they have left behind a pattern we will be blessed to emulate. Thank you, Dad, for your example to the rest of us. We know you are free from pain and enjoying the eternal home God has prepared for you.

See you, see you again when it's our turn to join you, Mother, Greg, and Paula. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory.

Closing Songs and Reflections on Hope

Happy days are here again, the year again. Let us sing a song of cheer again. Happy days are here again. All together, shout it now. There's no one who can doubt it now. So let's tell the world all about it now.

Happy days are here again. Your cares and troubles are gone. There'll be no more from now on. Happy days are here again. The skies above are clear again. Let us sing a song of cheer again. Happy days are here again.

So go long, fair times, we are rid of you. Grey times, cloudy grey times, you are now a thing.

Happy days are from now on. You march, you march, you march. What do you do when your pack has got your back as stiff as starch? There's many a fallen cavalry, but never a fallen arch. And what do you do in the infantry?

You march, you march, you march. What do you do in the infantry? You hike, you hike, you hike. What do you get in the infantry? You lift and ride a bike. The son of a gun in the signal corps is traveling on a bike.

And what do you do in the infantry? You hike, you hike, you hike. The hard way, the hard way.

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine. I keep my eyes wide open all the time. I keep the ends out for the tie that binds. Because you're mine, I walk the line. I find it very, very easy to be true.

I find myself alone when each day is through. Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you. Because you're mine, I walk the line.

Remember when the sound of little feet Was music, we danced week to week.

Brought back the love, we found trust Vows we never gave in It's just a stepping stone To where we are, where we've been Said we'd do it all We said when we turn gray.

When the children grow up.

We won't be sad.

Think of you whenever you.

The Hope of the Resurrection in John 11 and John 5

It feels like there's something special about a video tribute that begins with black and white pictures. I don't know why that feels so different to me. But I guess it's the testimony of a life well lived.

Over decades and decades. A memorial service for a believer. Especially one that is celebrated by other believers. Is markedly different than a memorial service for an unbeliever. Or somebody who has no hope.

So while it is true that we get to mourn We don't mourn like those who have no hope. Death is a reality for us as Christians as well. We lose people because death takes something. Takes a lot of things from us that are precious.

Death is the constant specter under which we live. It's the constant cloud under which we walk. That's why David when he says Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He's not describing there some unique particular time in his life When his enemies threatened him.

He's describing all of life. All of life is lived in the valley of the shadow of death. Because death is a constant reality around us all the time. And it threatens us at every moment. We do everything we can to stay alive and to survive.

And yet death could strike any one of us at any time. And so that's a reality for us as Christians. But it is not ultimately the triumphant thing in our lives. For the triumphant thing in our lives is the resurrection.

That we get to look forward to at the end of time on the last day. I'm going to read to you from John chapter 11 Beginning in verse 21. And then I'll read this to you. And then I'll briefly explain the context and its significance.

John 11, 21. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God. Even he who comes into the world.

When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister Saying, Secretly, the teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to him. That took place at the tomb of Jesus' friend Lazarus.

And Lazarus' two sisters are there. And when Jesus showed up Of course, the Lord knew what he was going to do. He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. And at the tomb there, he has this conversation with Mary In which she confesses her belief That on the last day, Lazarus would rise again.

She says to him, Even now, I know that whatever you ask of God God will give to you. And Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Of course, he meant, he was speaking of that moment When he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.

But then Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again In the resurrection on the last day. And Martha there is confessing the common Old Testament hope That the Jews had Because it is all through the Old Testament That eventually there will be a resurrection Of the righteous and the unrighteous.

Job 19 describes this. God says he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Meaning that he is not the God of the dead But of the living. You see this in Psalm 16. You see it in the book of Daniel That there will be a resurrection at the end of time.

And then Jesus describes this same resurrection In John chapter 5 When he says, Truly, truly, I say to you An hour is coming and now is When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. And those who hear will live.

For just as the Father has life in himself Even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. And he gave him authority to execute judgment Because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this. For an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs Will hear his voice And will come forth Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life.

Those who committed the evil deeds To a resurrection of judgment. So scripture teaches that There is a resurrection of all men at the end. And that we know that for certain. Because Jesus himself was raised from the dead Three days after he died on the cross.

And he died on the cross to pay the price For the sin of any and all Who will believe upon him. You and I are sinners and we have sinned And we have violated God's law And we deserve the wrath of God.

This is something that George knew. This is something he understood. But he had placed his faith in Jesus Christ Who came into this world to live a perfect life And then to die a death on the cross. Three days later he rose again.

And here in a few weeks we are going to set aside A Sunday, a resurrection Sunday In which we celebrate this magnificent triumph Over death that the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoyed The resurrection from the dead.

And because he is raised He has promised that he will raise All who believe upon him To a resurrection of life. And that we will get our bodies back glorified And that we will live and dwell with him In eternal bliss, in eternal joy In eternal glory forever In a new heavens and a new earth.

Because Christ is risen from the dead That is his promise. So we as believers we do mourn Because death has taken something from us. But that robbery is only temporary Because we get back Everything that we have lost in the fall.

We get it back And then some in a new creation. All because of what Christ has done He rescues us and secures us. Our forgiveness gives us eternal life And restores all of that to us. And that is worth remembering At a funeral and a memorial service For one who is righteous We who are in Christ will rise again And we will be with him And we will be with all the saints in glory.

This temporary parting is just short-lived. It will not last long. And the time that we spend away from our loved ones Here on earth will seem like Just a glimpse, like a shadow Like a brief moment Like almost the blinking of an eye In light of the eternity That we get to spend with those whom we love.

This is our common confession. This is the hope of the church. And so at this point It would be good for us to read together The Apostles' Creed. You will find that in your bulletin. You can follow along with me If you will, you don't have to read out loud.

I'm going to read it. In fact I would encourage you to not read it out loud. That way I don't have to keep up any kind of cadence That you can follow. And if I mess up then it will become a lot less obvious And awkward The Apostles' Creed.

And you will notice in here a reference Not only to Christ's resurrection But also to the resurrection of the body. And the authors of the creed Were not talking there about the body of Christ That's mentioned earlier.

But the resurrection of our body. This very body will be raised again In newness of life. I believe in God, the Father almighty Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ God's only Son, our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit Born of the Virgin Mary Suffered under Pontius Pilate Was crucified Died And was buried.

He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again He ascended into heaven. He is seated at the right hand Of the Father. And He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Catholic Church Meaning not Roman Catholic But Universal Church. The Holy Catholic Church The communion of saints The forgiveness of sins. The resurrection of the body And life everlasting. Amen.

Our Father we are grateful for the hope that we have In the resurrection. Because Christ has died for us and rose again We can know that with triumph We will stand before you In resurrected bodies on the last day.

Thank you for your Glorious work on our behalf. Thank you for the hope that we have. And thank you for the soon and coming return Of the Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward to that day when we shall rejoice Together before your throne With all your elect, with all your loved ones With all your children From all the ages past.

We give you glory and thanks today in Christ's name.

Amen.

Closing Hymn and Benediction

Would you stand with us please. As we end this service by singing Great is thy faithfulness.

Great is thy faithfulness. O God my Father There is no shadow Of turning with thee Thou changest not By compassions They fail not As thou hast been Thou for end My faithfulness Great is thy faithfulness.

Mourner's seas ice Summer and winter And spring Time and harvest Sun, moon And stars In their corsets Ah Joined with all nature And man Mercy provide And a peace that Exalt mine With ten thousand.

Beasts.

Ah Is thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness.

Let's end with a word of prayer. Lord we thank you for your faithfulness. We thank you for your faithfulness In George's life and in the life Of his family. We also thank you for the promise Of the resurrection And for the promised hope that we Will see George again and Our family and loved ones That are in Christ.

Amen Amen. Would you please join us with the reception. In the back. You are dismissed, thank you.