He was born July 29, 1929 in Edina, MO, the son of Willis and Julia (Buford) Swango. He married Shirley Baughman on June 28th, 1951. She survives along with his sisters Donna Mustread and Mary Paul, Son, Roger Swango, Daughter-in-law, Rosalie Swango and 4 grandkids, Michelle Berryman, Bret Swango, Nichole Swango and Billie Jean Drazenovic as well as by 4 great grandchildren, Kyla Roome, Mikko Drazenovic, Andi Drazenovic and Magnus Drazenovic. He was preceded in death by his parents Willis and Julia Swango, brother Willis Jr. and daughter Christy Edwards.
Bill embodied what it meant to be a part of the greatest generation and in many ways the story of Bill Swango epitomizes many of the best elements of the story of America. Bill was a man of virtue. Just being around him made you want to be a better person. His life was built upon a foundation of service around the pillars of Family, Faith, Community and Country.
Born just days before the start of the great depression, Bill’s family starved out of Missouri and put everything they had into an old Model T to head for Smithfield in 1930. After living outside of town for a few years, his parents eventually settled into a house in Smithfield on the same block as his future bride, Shirley Baughman. Bill and Shirley were the definition of a loving relationship and celebrated over 71 wonderful years of marriage together (according to the census bureau, less than 1 in every 1,000 marriages makes it to 70 years). One factor Bill attributed their success to, “we never went to bed mad at each other.”
Bill began his schooling at Buckeye School house, a one room school where 1st - 8th grades were taught by a single teacher. When his parents moved to Smithfield the summer after first grade, he repeated the grade or as he put it, “I did so well in first grade my first time that they had me stick around a second year to show the next class how it was done.” He graduated from Cuba High School in 1948.
After graduation, Bill took a job at Caterpillar in East Peoria. Shortly thereafter, he enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas where he taught marksmanship, managed a hobby shop and managed a retrainee group. Upon his honorable discharge from the military, he returned to Caterpillar where he worked in the inspection department until his retirement in 1980. He had perfect attendance during his career other than two occasions when he was late to work, both time he was hit by drunk drivers. Bill's humble upbringing caused him to greatly value his Caterpillar employment, however, his true passion was leveraging his love for hunting, fishing, the outdoors and artistry to give back.
Bill was an avid outdoorsman from the earliest age. He spent much of his childhood hunting squirrels, rabbits and other small game to feed his family. Hunting developed his patience as he would often sit in a single spot all day admiring nature’s beauty, awaiting an opportunity to make a harvest. He was a firm believer in conservation and operated under the motto of "don’t shoot it unless you are going to eat it." He raised quail for over twenty years to try and increase the local population. Growing up in an era in which the area had no large game made Bill especially appreciative of the bountiful opportunities the area’s sportsman enjoy to this day. His appreciation for conservation is evidenced by his membership and countless artwork contributions to Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation where he was a Diamond lifetime member.
Bill loved fishing for flatheads at the Bernadotte dam where he made some of his fondest memories with his mother and father-in-law and later his son, nephews, grandson and his grandson’s friends. Many of his best friendships were forged on that dam. His grandson loves to tell the story of asking his grandpa where in the world he would most like to travel to, Bill's response "the Bernadotte dam."
Bill loved all things outdoors. He was always a tree lover and could name any plant, tree or any songbird based on markings or its song. He also loved hunting fossils, ginseng, mushrooms, Native American Artifacts and more. Bill had an insatiable curiosity. He was a life-long learner who loved to teach others. He taught free woodworking classes for more than a decade. Bill's commitment to education is evident in his nearly 3 decades of service on the Cuba School Board including an instrumental role in getting a referendum passed to enable the construction of a new state of the art high school in the mid-2000s. His desire to serve and love for the outdoors culminated in his role as a Boy Scout leader for more than two decades where he was able to share his passion for the outdoors with the area's youth.
His teachings went far beyond art and the outdoors. Bill was also a man of incredibly strong faith who loved to share the lord's word be it in a church classroom or a turkey blind with his grandson. His faith was forged at an early age as he attended Brock United Methodist Church in Smithfield since his adolescence. There he served as a long-time member of their board of trustees, taught Sunday school for more than 50 years and regularly performed maintenance on the 100+ year old structure.
Bill saw potential in everyone and everything and it was his eye for possibility and commitment to community that drove him to restore a number of local structures including the Buckeye Church (formerly the Buckeye School house he attended) along with Harold Welch's art studio in Smithfield. Bill was active in regular maintenance and repairs of the Bernadotte dam as well a contributor to fundraisers for both the dam as well as the historic bridge in Bernadotte Park. Bill and his wife, Shirley, also assisted in the operation of the Red Brick School Community Center for nearly 3 decades while seated as Chair for the Spoon River Scenic Drive and "Country Christmas." Bill was also a founder of the Smithfield Gun Club which lies along the edge of his property.
Bill loved to use his talents to contribute to the community he loved. Nobody loved their life, their family, their God, their country or Fulton County more than Bill Swango. He loved to love.
He accomplished a lot in his 93 years but those would never be his words. He never talked about himself or used the word, "I", not even on his carvings. He signed most of his carvings "Bill & Shirley Swango." He knew none of these things were possible by himself.
While much of his notoriety was attributed to his gift of blending his passion for the outdoors with his artistry, among his most endearing traits to those who knew him best was his perspective of gratitude, a product of his humble beginnings. Every day was a great day in the world of Bill Swango or to put it into Shirley's words, "All of them except for the one you don’t wake up for, and that will be the best one yet."
Bill was a simple man in all the best ways. He was a man of one; one woman for nearly three-quarters of a century (he was the only man Shirley ever kissed), one employer his whole career, one mission, serving and loving others. One of a kind.
A faithful servant to the Lord; this world is a worse place without him but a better place because of him. His final words were a distillation of his always positive, can-do attitude, “we’re gonna make it.” He will be dearly missed.
Services will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Friday at Henry-Lange Memorial Home in Cuba, where visitation will be held 3 hours prior to services. Burial will be at Baughman Cemetery in rural Smithfield. Memorial contributions may be made to Brock United Methodist Church, Cass Township Community Center (Red Brick School House) or the Grant Keime Program. To view Bill's life tribute video or to send condolences visit henrylange.com
“The family encourages those who wish to share a favorite memory of Bill with them. You can email an audio, video or written message to Bret.swango@gmail.com with Subject “Bill Swango”; text it to 309-224-9345; or send a written letter to 7838 E. St. Rt. 95, Smithfield, IL 61477.”
No comments:
Post a Comment