Remembering Gwen Swanson

On Thursday I learned that my friend Gwen Swanson, a reporter during my tenure at the Hibbing Tribune, passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Just three weeks from diagnosis. Just 34 years old. She was one of those kind, gentle souls who put others first as a sort of reflexive instinct.


Gwen’s last note to me expressed hope I wouldn’t be disappointed that she would have to take some time off from grad school, something at which she was excelling. My goodness Gwen, I am only disappointed that you are gone. 

My thoughts are with her family, her boyfriend and her many friends she had made since her move out west, where she had found peace of mind and a better future for herself. She made her own way home. And she is home, true to her personality, well before curfew. So early, in fact, as not to be fair. Goodbye, my friend.

(I shared this on Facebook and decided to share it here as well. The photo is from Gwen’s Caring Bridge page, where you can leave a message for her family. Her memorial service will be at the Mosaic Church at 1832 NE Cesar E Chavez Blvd in Portland, Oregon on Monday July 16. The burial will be private at the Rose City Cemetery in Portland. There will a Memorial Service in Hibbing on July 21 at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church 605 41st Street).

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