Date of Birth:
Tuesday, June 30, 1931
Date of Death:
Saturday, July 18, 2020
Age:
89 years old

Phillip Lowell Swanson

Phillip Lowell Swanson, a long-time Rochester resident, passed away at Season’s Hospice on July 18, 2020, after a struggle with cancer.  Phil was born on June 30, 1931, the second child of William and Helen (Dahl) Swanson. He grew up in south Minneapolis, earned money with a paper route, and attended Roosevelt High School (class of 1949), where he played the trumpet in the band. He went on to the University of Minnesota and received a Bachelor of Science degree from its College of Pharmacy in 1955.

Phil worked in retail pharmacy at Dahl Drug in downtown Minneapolis for two years. Then, between 1955 and 1958, he served with the U.S. Air Force Medical Service Corps at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, AK.

In 1958, Phil joined Eli Lilly and Company as a pharmaceutical representative, working four years in Minneapolis and 29 years in Rochester, primarily at Mayo Clinic Hospitals, and the surrounding territory. He retired from Lilly in 1991.

Phil was a member of the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists, Minnesota Pharmaceutical Association, and University of Minnesota Alumni Association. He was past president of the Rochester Detail Group. He also belonged to the Rochester Exchange Club and was a long-standing member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.

Phil was an avid reader with many interests, including military history and spy fiction, and accumulated an extensive home library. He loved baseball, tennis, cross-country skiing, and travel, though his favorite leisure activity was golf.

He married Phylis Marie Bechtold in 1954; the couple divorced in 1975. In 1985, he married Marcia Elaine Wittren, who passed away in 2008. He was also preceded in death by his parents and an older sister, Joanne Larsen.

Phillip is survived by special friend Beverly Simpson of Rochester, his sister Lois Engseth of Wauwatosa, WI, brothers Don (Carol) Swanson of Rochester and William (Libby) Swanson of Minneapolis, step-children Douglas (Carol) Wittren, Portland, OR, Dean (Susie) Wittren, Rochester, and Amy (Mark) Reader, St. Bonifacius, MN, and step-grandchildren Charlie and Henry Wittren, and Alex Reader. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

A private memorial service will take place at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, August 1^st, 2020, at Macken Funeral Home, 1105 12^th St SE, Rochester, MN, with inurnment at a later date.

The family wishes to thank to the staff of Season’s Hospice for their very kind and professional care of Phillip during the past several weeks. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Season’s Hospice 1696 Greenview DR SW, Rochester, MN 55902, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 1212 12^th Av NW, Rochester, MN 55901, or the donor’s choice.