Patricia Rose (Hutchison) Swanson

Pioneering Wife, Mother, Teacher

Patricia Rose (Hutchison) Swanson, formerly of Superior and Brule, Wisconsin and Navarre, Florida, age 92, passed away peacefully Friday, May 23rd, 2025, at North Memorial Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was born on October 9th, 1932 in Superior. She graduated from Superior Central High School and Superior State Teaching College (later UW-Superior). She was united in marriage to Seegar William Swanson, Jr. on July 10th, 1954 in Concordia Lutheran Church in Superior, such that Pat and Seegar celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2024.

Pat was a wife, mother and homemaker. But she was so much more than that... Rare at the time, she single-parented on a weekly basis as a result of her husband's work travels. She was such a pioneer on so many fronts. In the early days of women being a homemaker/mom and also having a career, she began substitute teaching in the Anoka Hennepin School District in 1965. She was one of the first SLBP teachers creating individualized learning experiences for students with special needs in the district, playing a key role in introducing the modern day “special education” programs in the State of Minnesota. Her love of teaching reached beyond the brick & mortar buildings, tutoring her grandchildren and others who needed assistance with their schoolwork.

Pat was always active in her church and her community, and enjoyed participating in recreational team sports, especially volleyball. She continued her pioneering ways by spending many years active in Scouting, beginning with serving as a Den Mother when her sons became Cub Scouts. As they graduated into Boy Scouts, she assisted with troop activities, and hosted meetings where the boys planned high adventure trips to places like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and the Rocky Mountains. As her daughters became Brownies, she became a Girl Scout leader. Having started as a den mother & watching how the Boy Scouts ran their leadership program training boys to learn to lead, she used those concepts in her Girl Scout troop. She implemented patrols, patrol leaders, & leadership positions for the Scouts. She taught her Girl Scouts that they could do anything boys could do. She adopted the high adventure trip concept, trained her Scouts how to plan, raise money, and make their adventures come true with trips to Washington, DC and Banff, Canada. She had an important Council role planning and implementing a weekend camping trip with all of the troops in her council known as Prairie Dog Hilton. That event exposed many of the other troops in the Council to a troop that did activities very different from the arts and crafts activities typical of the Girl Scout program at the time, which resulted in many of the other troop leaders adopting similar practices.

Pat was the penultimate anti-diva. She put the needs of everyone else, and in particular family members, ahead of her own. She just quietly and humbly made a difference in shaping so many (especially young) minds throughout her entire life in the many roles she filled. She did this with a strength and resilience that was understated. She never wanted to be fussed over. This ingrained part of her personality is likely the reason for her insistence that there be no funeral or celebration of life ceremony in her honor. Following are excerpts from some comments made by two of her granddaughters in social media posts following her death that reflect this innate element of Patricia's life:

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My grandmother was an amazing woman. She helped shape me into who I am. She helped shape all of us. She saw the best in everyone and watered seeds of kindness in all whom she met. She taught many of us how to read and write, how to listen, how to think for ourselves and was a guide to many of our moral compasses. She protected, guided and was there through every turmoil. Each day she shared her infectious laugh and many stories as she deepened her connections with all of us.

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Grandma Pat, thank you for always being you, you were undoubtedly the kindest person I've ever met, you had the ability of challenging people to push them towards achieving their goals. You radiated positivity, love and joy every single day of your life. You were also a storyteller.

I doubt I'll ever meet anyone as special or kind as you again in my life, because you were truly one of a kind.

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Patricia is survived by her children Seegar III (Miki) Swanson, Scott (Kim) Swanson, Sandy (John) Ruhland, and Sue Swanson; 11 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, cousin Judy Burton, and many nieces and nephews. Patricia is preceded in death by husband Seegar Swanson, Jr., brother George Hutchison, granddaughter Alyssa Hoppes and cousin Marlene Byrne.

At her request, Patricia's remains were cremated and will be scattered in a tale of two cabins. Half will be scattered near the tree planted in honor of her brother George near the Swanson Trust family cabin in Brule, Wisconsin. The other half will be scattered near her son Seegar and wife Miki's cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains in north Georgia, where she spent many happy times during winters in the South.