BRYAN FRED SWAN

Bryan Fred Swan died on Oct. 3, 1997. He was 90 years old.

He was born into a farming family on May 12, 1907, to Charles and Caroline Gratz Swan, and grew up in the town of Wittenberg. When he was 19 he received a congressional appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and his life on the farm changed forever. Upon graduation, he served in the Pacific on the USS West Virginia, and in China on the USS Isabelle.

He married Virginia Hollbrock June 30, 1939, and she passed away June 7, 1996.

In 1944 he was invited to come and teach science at the University of Chicago Laboratory School in Chicago. He remained there until his retirement in 1972. It was during this period that he raised his three children, David of Chicago, Charles of San Diego, Calif., and Robert of Chicago, along with his wife, Virginia.

Following his retirement he worked as a volunteer for 22 years at Wyler Children's Hospital, helping children confined for long periods of time with their studies.

Over the years, whether he was on duty in China, teaching in India, or simply at home in Chicago, he maintained his extensive family ties throughout much of Southeast Missouri. When his children were small, he would bring them down from Chicago for a summer with one of his sisters in Pocahontas or Altenburg. In later years he became the historian of the family, organizing family reunions, complete with his amazing slide presentations and feats of memory.

He was a devoted father and a beloved teacher, and in the communities of his youth, Pocahontas, Altenburg, Jackson, and Cape, he was everyone's favorite uncle.

He is survived by this three children and three grandchildren.

Visitation will be at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pocahontas beginning at 11 a.m. and the funeral will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 18) by the Rev. John Kiehl. Burial will be in the church cemetery. A reception will follow.

Arrangements by McCombs Funeral Home of Jackson.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Bryan F. Swan Scholarship Fund, c/o The University of Chicago Laboratory School, 1362 East 59th Street, Chicago, Ill., 60637.