Swenson, William G. "Bill" 82, was born August 14, 1941 in Norwalk, CT and died after a long illness on May 2, 2024, at home in Bethesda, MD with his wife Sue (Dahl) Swenson and sons Will Swenson and Eric Swenson at his side. He was preceded in death by his son Charlie Swenson. Bill grew up in Florida, the only child of older parents. He went to college at the University of Chicago at 16, and completed his PhD there. Bill transformed his childhood loneliness into solitude and freedom through rigorous study, and by riding his 1970 Norton Commando twice from Chicago to the West Coast and back. He said he was lucky in love and cherished his circle of friends and the large Red Wing family into which he married. Bill was a lifelong teacher, trainer, scholar, and reader. In the '70s, Bill was a popular professor of interdisciplinary humanities at the University of Chicago. For more than 15 years he taught leadership and humanities at Metro State, St. Catherine's, and Augsburg in the Twin Cities before moving to the DC area, where he worked on inclusive projects with several federal, state and local agencies. He edited three collections of American systematic pluralist philosopher Richard McKeon's works for the University of Chicago Press. An open house with family, friends, and students is planned in Minneapolis on June 1 and interment will be at Oakwood Cemetery in Red Wing. The family invites memorial donations to your local non-profit hospice association.

Published on May 27, 2024