Swanson, Irvin Wesley

Irvin Swanson, beloved husband of Penny, passed away peacefully at dawn on February 13, 2023 in Vulcan, AB. He is survived by his wife Penny, daughters Shauna (Aldo), Shari (Dave), grandchildren Kaitlin & Kristian and Penny’s daughters Nina (Laurie), Caroline (Sean), Donna (Gary). Together they had 10 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, all of who miss him dearly. He was predeceased by his first wife June.

Irv was born in Walpole, SK on Dec. 19, 1933 during a winter blizzard. He spent his childhood, together with older brother Raymond and younger sister Lois, on the farm in Mair, SK. Although he never farmed as an adult, his early experiences shaped the way he saw the world. When he was 10 the family moved to Maryfield, SK, where he continued to help out on the farm during summer holidays.

When Irv was 20, he saw an ad in the newspaper from The Bank of Nova Scotia looking for trainees. This was the start of a 40-year career with Scotiabank that took him to Carrot River SK, Kenora ON, Virden MB, Regina SK, Edmonton AB, Lethbridge AB, Olds, AB and finally to Arrowwood AB.

Irv met June at a dance in Souris, MB in 1959 and they were married the next year. June died in 1973 and Irv became a single father to two young girls. This was very unusual in those days, and over the next 10 years he became a fantastic cook regularly hosting turkey dinner Christmas parties for his bank staff. He always said his girls never gave him any problems during these years, but we are not sure if the girls would say the same thing about him.

A year later Irv & the girls moved to Olds AB, where he spent his leisure time golfing, curling and volunteering as treasurer for various clubs. Every weekend he would load up the trailer and he and the girls would go camping. His love for travel was a constant throughout his life.

Irv met Penny in 1979 at her place of work. Penny shared many of his interests including a love of seeing new places. They attended many dances together before marrying in 1983. They moved to Arrowwood in 1984 and quickly settled in to small town living. Irv was a member of the Arrowwood Lions Club for over 30 years, rising to the ranks of Regional Chairman.

Retirement beckoned in 1993 and at 3:15 on his last workday Penny was sitting outside the office with the RV hooked up, waiting to start on their grand adventure. Over the next 20 months they fulfilled Irv’s lifelong dream traveling 35,000kms across Canada to Newfoundland, down to Florida, across to Arizona, up to Alaska and back down to Arizona. This was the start of a 20-year tradition of spending summers in Canada and winters in Apache Junction, Arizona.

Irv loved everything about retirement. In Arizona he polished rocks, bowled and headed up the dance committee, but he & Penny made sure to stop everyday at 3PM for their patio coffee get-together with friends. During the summers back home, they ran a small business selling homemade jewelry at local farmers markets.

Irv had numerous health issues over the past 10 years which slowed down their travel opportunities, but that didn’t stop him from finishing his memoirs, enjoying coffee with friends and driving his mobility scooter around the town.

Irv’s family would like to thank the staff at the Vulcan Community Health Centre for taking such good care of him over the last 9 months. They eased the way during a difficult time and we are very grateful. Special thanks to Natasha who provided support to the whole family. We will miss Irv terribly but are thankful we had such a wonderful man in our lives.

A Family Graveside Service has taken place in Arrowwood, a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made to Vulcan Healthcare Auxiliary –

https://vhcaux.com/donate/