Donald Lloyd Swisher

Donald Lloyd Swisher (88), was born March 31st, 1930, in Post Falls, Idaho to his parents Elmer Baily Swisher and Hallie Elizabeth (Ede) Swisher. Don met his wife Carolyn June (Peer) Swisher in Seattle, Washington and they were married August 7, 1953. They were true inseparable sweethearts and enjoyed a wonderful life, a great family, lifelong friends and 65 happy years of marriage. Don and Carolyn had three loving sons: Fred, Bob, and Dave and were blessed to add three daughters-in-law: Sarah, Janet and Kelly, plus eight wonderful grandchildren: Autumn, Jasmine, Ben, Michael, Amadeus, Everest, Carly, Brody and one great grandchild. Don is also survived by his sister Shirley (Hamilton) Warner. Don lost his own father at age 9 and had to shoulder responsibility early on. He began his career picking apples and corn as a 10-year-old in the Ellensburg Washington area and purchased his own car by age 12. He went on to the Army Air Force and then aced his test and was selected to transfer directly to the U.S. Military Academy (West Point). In the early 1950s, he moved to Seattle where he met Carolyn and went to work for the Boeing Company. Within a few years he was promoted to Division Manager and then finally to the Director of Finance, where he was instrumental in making many key decisions that helped shape the company. After Boeing, in 1964, Don moved the family to Laguna Beach, California and started a company called Business Express, which was a commercial delivery service in Los Angeles with a fleet of vans (prior to Fed Ex). Then in 1968, they decided to move back to Seattle, but on the way stopped in the little town of Bend and loved it. They stayed for a week and decided that Bend was the perfect place to live and raise a family. Don worked as V.P. of Sales/Marketing at Sunriver where he was a big part of shaping the early days of Sunriver. He had a long career in commercial real estate and development in the Bend area and was part of the community, serving on the Bend school board to approve the new Mt View High School and Cascade Middle School. Don was one of a kind and just had a presence about him, he was considered by many as a force of nature. He was extremely tough but was good to people and loved his family and friends. Some have said he would have made a fine general as every decision he made just seemed like the best way. He had an incredible mind and had memorized every nautical chart from the San Juan Islands in Puget sound up to Alaska. We all enjoyed his knowledge about everything, just ask him about how boat battery charging systems worked or how to rewire a 12-volt system (the right way). The Sunday times crossword was a breeze for him and he remembered every book he read, most every conversation, statistic, quote and person he met. Don and Carolyn enjoyed frequent outings to the Westside Starbucks or to Cheerleaders Grill and he could tell you the name and background of everyone who worked there and they genuinely loved seeing everyone at their favorite spots around town. Don and Carolyns passion were their beloved boats "Porpoise" and then "Walrus" where they spent nearly 36 years boating and exploring some 80,000 nautical miles of Washington, Canada and Alaska coastlines, inlets and islands. Don was a licensed Coast Guard Captain and he and Carolyn spent time cruising, seeing bears, orcas and eagles, catching salmon, eating crab and oysters and smiling with the friends that boated with them or that they met along the way. They could cruise into a remote fishing village and have a circle of friends laughing and telling stories in record time. Carolyn passed on January 8, 2019, and two months later Don followed his sweetheart on March 11th. We know he is now reunited with the love of his life and they are smiling down on all of us. Don could always pull out a quote for any occasion and this time we can share one from him. Only a week before he passed, he said "Our family has been so fortunate, we have such a wonderful family and have had a great life, we are just so lucky". We are sad to lose such wonderful parents, but they were a "package deal" and we are comforted knowing they are together. They lived a full life with a loving family, wonderful friends, and had volumes of great stories of all the adventures one could ever hope for. We love you Mom and Dad, may you both rest in peace and be together forever. The family would like to thank everyone for all the loving support, prayers and condolences. A Memorial for both Don and Carolyn is being planned for Saturday, May 11th at the Bend Riverhouse at 2 pm Carolyns favorite group was PEO (along with her Knitters group) and both Don and Carolyn expressed that they wanted to support the PEO foundation. PEO has set up a scholarship in Carolyns name, so we ask that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: PEO Foundation, (RE; Carolyn Swisher Scholarship Fund), Care of Anne Chrisman 1069 NW Milton Ct., Bend, Oregon 97703 Funeral Home: Niswonger-Reynolds Funeral Home 105 NW Irving Ave Bend, OR US 97701

Tributes

Donald Lloyd Swisher

March 31, 1930 - March 11, 2019