Birth date: Jul 20, 1951 Death date: Nov 4, 2020
John Ross Swanes was born on July 20, 1951 in Tacoma, WA. He passed away peacefully in his Gig Harbor home on November 4, 2020; the home he and his family enjoyed for 40 years. In 2015 John was diagnosed with an incurable brain ca Read Obituary
John Swanes was a member of Norden Lodge 2-002 Sons of Norway, in Tacoma WA. We will miss him, and send our heartfelt condolences to all of his family, friends, and community. May his memory be a blessing.
Being one of the 10 Cousins on the Swanes side of our family, John was the only boy with 9 girls. He was 2 years older than me and being from a family of four girls, he was my only example and exposure of life around a boy. We shared many summers at our grandparents beach house by FoxIsland and spent nights with the older cousins out in the detached converted wood shed named the Wooden Shoe. I know now the parents built that so they could have a break from seven kids running around at high speed all day long. Regardless, when we were all nestled down in our sleeping bags, lights out, prayers said, parents gone, John would begin telling ghost stories and get us so scared that many headed back to mom and dad in the house.
John was what I used as a measuring stick when I became older and began dating. He was so full of laughter, a caring spirit, and we Latimer girls couldn’t have had a better example of a brother if we had had one. Love to the Swanes family, may his memory keep you going and his love for you all sustain you. Ann (Latimer) Rickabaugh
Back in 1995, my father Bill O'Brien had gone to lunch with a friend of his who invited his son, a school teacher from Soldotna Alaska to join them for lunch. My dad told the son that I was going up to Alaska in 3 weeks and the teacher shared his phone number and said if I called him he would take me fishing on the Kenai river. I relayed this to John and John said "I'm free in 3 weeks". Clarke Johnson who was with us said "I'm free too". I made the call and asked if I could bring a couple of friends, and the trip was on.
The first day we hired a guide that took us halibut fishing out on the ocean I learned first hand how my friend John, who feared no man, could be brought to his knees with sea sickness. Although he fought through it and landed the biggest halibut of the trip, he was all too happy to get back on land.
The next day was the whole reason for the trip, and we were excited. It was our day to fish the Kenai, home of the largest sport caught salmon in the world. We met the school teacher at the river, and he explained the rules that we could only catch one salmon each, the daily limit for the Kenai, Also the fish had to actually bite the lure. Any fish that is snagged, (also known as foul hooking the fish) had to be released.
The lures we were using were called Spin and Glows that had been very successful catching the whoppers we were after . These are large fluorescent colored lures with little wings on the side that cause it to spin in the water. We couldn't wait to get our lines in the water with visions of catching the "Big One".
We had been fishing for probably an hour or so when all of a sudden John got a hit, and we knew it was a big one as his rod seemed to bend in half. John had brought his video camera and Clarke started filming Johns fight with the fish. During the fight John nearly brought it in almost close enough to the boat to net, before the fish would take another run. We knew it was large but we didn't know exactly how big because the Kenai has a lot of silt in the water and we couldn't see the entire fish when he brought it in close. Then, on one of his runs the fish jumped out of the water...IT WAS HUGE! After probably an hour or so John was able to reel it close enough that we were able to get it in the net. We knew it was going to be 60 pounds or more. The fish was thrashing around in the net that was still in the water and when it turned on it's side we saw a horrible sight. The hook was not in the mouth, it was in the fishes gill. The teacher stated "Its foul hooked" and in the blink of an eye he unhooked the fish and let him go.
I will never forget the look on John's face as he watched the fish get away. His face was one of total sadness, of hopelessness. of a great loss. Here was a guy who could have brought home truckloads of salmon, but he never got the chance to hold his fish up and measure it.
Shortly afterward we all agreed that it sure looked like it was properly hooked during the times John nearly got it close enough to the boat to net and even as the fish was being netted, but we all saw that the hook was in the gill.
That night over drinks we were all talking about the release of the fish and Clarke remembered the video. We quickly replayed the video, and at the point that the fish jumped out of the water, we stopped the video and enlarged it. That fluorescent Spin and Glow was clearly, firmly in the fish's mouth. It must have gotten unhooked while in the net and re-hooked in the gill while in the net.
Too bad there was no instant replay back in 1995.
John, we already miss you so much. Damn Covid kept us away from our too infrequent visits while in Seattle this year. You leave a legacy of wonderful, loving family, and for that we are thankful! We are so lucky to have fallen into your life via the love between our son and your daughter. Our son benefited greatly having you as his father-in-law, and we will never forget your love for him! We promise to always share stories about you with our mutual grand children , Elsa and Vivienne. They and we will never forget you!
Your friends and family, Bill and Kathy Godwin
