Deane Swanson

Deane Weston Swanson, 92, of Yates Center, passed away early Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019, at Yates Center Health & Rehab.

Deane was born April 8, 1927, on the family farm near Elsmore, the son of Harold Augustine and Hannah Elida (Lindstrom) Swanson.

He grew up on the farm and attended East Liberty Grade School before graduating from Elsmore High School in 1945. He missed his high school graduation ceremony because he joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. He served until the end of World War II serving on the USS Medusa stationed in the Philippines. Following his service, he attended Kansas State University earning a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. He then returned to Elsmore where he purchased a farm.

On April 12, 1953, he and Dorothy Ann Hutchison were married. Deane farmed for several years and then was employed by the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service as a soil scientist. He worked at the office in Girard for several years before moving to the Yates Center office in 1962. He mapped soil types in many of the counties of Southeast Kansas and was recognized for mapping over 1 million acres. He retired in 1986.

Deane was a member of Friends Home Lutheran Church in Savonburg. He enjoyed following and attending his children and grandchildren’s many events. In his leisure time he enjoyed golf and carving amazing figures out of wood. He was an avid sports fan and enjoyed attending local Yates Center team events and K-State games.

His wife, Dorothy, preceded him in death on Jan. 4, 2011. He was also preceded by his parents; his son-in-law, Mitch Roberts; a brother, J. Edward Swanson; and an infant brother, Harold A. Swanson.

He is survived by his children, Richard Swanson and wife Cathy of Olathe, Susan Roberts of Bel Aire, and Sandra Heffern and husband Mike of Yates Center; six grandchildren, Thomas and his wife Marie, Ann Franklin and her husband Brady, Jon Roberts and Trisha Delano, Niki Stivers and her husband David, Ty Heffern, and Taylor Heffern; four great-grandchildren, Daphne Franklin, Corbin Delano-Roberts, Alyssa Heffern, and Adalyn Jackson; a sister, Mary Lou O’Brien of St. Paul; many other relatives and friends.

Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. today, at the Friends Home Lutheran Church in Savonburg. Burial will follow in the Swedish Cemetery at Savonburg.

Memorial contributions may be made to Friends Home Lutheran Church or the Woodson County Educational Foundation and may be sent in care of Campbell Funeral Home, P.O. Box 188 Yates Center, KS 66783.