Walter “Dean” Swanson

September 26, 1938 ~ November 26, 2022

Walter “Dean” Swanson, 84, Sioux Falls, died Saturday, November 26, 2022, at his home surrounded by his family.

Visitation with family will be 5-7pm, Wednesday, November 30, 2022, at Heartland Funeral Home. A Celebration of Life will be 11:00 am, Thursday, December 1, 2022, at Spirit of Truth Lutheran Church, (112 E. Annabelle St., Brandon, SD), followed by burial at Hills of Rest Cemetery in Sioux Falls. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Feeding South Dakota or The Robin’s Nest of Jamaica. (Contact information available at Heartland Funeral Home by request.)

Walter “Dean” Swanson was born on September 26, 1938, in Sioux Falls, SD. The son of Walter and Iola Swanson. He was raised on a farm and attended Berg School, Brandon High School, and South Dakota State University for three years studying Ag Education.

In 1960, Dean went to Omaha, NE, and attended Automation Institute, graduating in 1960 – from IBM Data Processing. He then went to California and worked as Senior Operator/Data Processing – at Long Beach Naval Shipyards, Long Beach, CA. After one year, he moved to Denver, CO. Dean worked for JC Penney’s as Supervisor/Data Processing and at Martin Marrietta Corp/Lockheed as Technician/Data Processing.

Dean belonged to the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, with an Honorable Discharge in 1960. In 1964, he decided to come back to SD and farm with his dad, until retirement in 1998.

In 1976, Dean married Barbara Ingalls Tordsen, at Peace Lutheran Church, in Sioux Falls. He was not only blessed with a wife, but with a son, Brian, of who he was very proud. They lived on the family farm in rural northern Sioux Falls, until 2016 when they downsized and moved to Sioux Falls.

Dean and Barb loved to travel and spent many winters in Texas and Arizona. They played tennis and golf. Dean enjoyed water skiing and snow skiing, especially the years he lived in Colorado.

Dean loved the get-togethers with Brian and his family. Over the years, he enjoyed getting together with friends, playing cards and eating out.

Dean was Director and Past Chairman of Soil and Water Conservation District, Minnehaha County; Director and Past Chairman of Farm Credit Services in Sioux Falls; Director and Chairman of Farmers Coop Elevator in Crooks; Director of Crop Improvement Association in Sioux Falls; Youth Counselor and Building Committee Member of Beaver Valley Lutheran Church Board; and a founding member of Spirit of Truth Lutheran Church.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Barb; son, Brian (Angela) Tordsen, Sioux Falls; grandson, Jeremy (Anna) Tordsen, Sioux Falls; granddaughter, Baylee Tordsen, Las Vegas, NV; great-granddaughter, Connley Rose Tordsen, Sioux Falls; brother, Jim (Margaret) Swanson, Gaylord, MN; brothers-in-law, Darrell Helgeson, Brandon, Jerry (Shary) Ingalls, Calabash, NC, Mark (Carole) Ingalls, Severance, CO; and several nieces and nephews.

Dean was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Iola Swanson; sister, Judy Helgeson; mother-in-law and father-in-law, John and Vera Ingalls; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Ron and Dona Ingalls.

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