Dr. Swallen, 78, cared for others through the very end

Pathologist Dr. Thomas Swallen continued helping cancer patients after he received his own cancer diagnosis 16 years ago.

Swallen died of prostate cancer Dec. 2 at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he had worked from 1965 to 1997. The Golden Valley resident was 78.

When his cancer was diagnosed, he was given just a few years to live, said his wife, Diane. He established a support group for prostate cancer patients at the hospital 10 years ago and led it until early this year. Support group members called him day and night.

"Not only did he have the disease and have the medical knowledge, he was a caring guy," said his wife.

For much of his career, he taught University of Minnesota Medical School students as a part-time professor. In the late 1980s, he served as chief of staff at North Memorial.

"It's not too much to say he was my hero," said Dr. Peter Benson, a North Memorial pathologist. "He was really a class guy."

Benson said colleagues often sought each others' advice about tissue samples before making diagnoses. Swallen wouldn't simply give a comment; he would take the time to thoroughly study a problem and write out his opinion, Benson said.

"He was extremely conscientious" and a "warm and wonderful person," she said.

Two of his children were born with mental disabilities. He and his former wife, Sally Helmerichs of Edina, "made changes for the better for mentally disabled people," his wife said.

In the 1970s, he played leadership roles in several help groups for disabled people, including serving as president of Arc of Minnesota and president of the board of Homeward Bound Inc.

In 2002, he was named Minnesota Hospital and Health Care Partnership Volunteer of the Year.

Swallen grew up in Minneapolis, graduating from Southwest High School. After receiving a bachelor's degree in psychology from Carleton College in Northfield in 1951, he served in the Army during the Korean War.

When he was young, he took art classes, and after retirement, he became a painter and collagist. For years, he held an open studio at his church, Judson Memorial Baptist Church in Minneapolis. "He liked to paint with drama, and tell a story," said his wife.

In addition to his wife, Diane of Golden Valley, he is survived by three sons, Peter of Chanhassen, John of Shoreview and Steve of Madison, Wis.; two stepdaughters, Gabrielle Sysyn and Nicola Sysyn, both of Portland, Ore.; two sisters, Sydney Rice of Minneapolis and Jennie Groenig of Spokane, Wash.; his former wife, Sally Helmerichs of Edina, and eight grandchildren.

His son Matthew died in 1979.