Richard Dennis Swender

On Wednesday June 5, 2024, my father, Richard Dennis Swender passed away at 71 years-young, in his Buckeye, Arizona home. He had lived in Arizona since 2008 but is originally from California. Richard was born in 1952 to Robert and Jessie Nadine Swender. He attended Warren High and graduated in 1970. He worked for my Grandfather for many years at Robert H. Loud Ford in Pasadena, California. It was there in Pasadena where he met my mother and married her in 1981. I came along in 1982 and Ryan (my brother) made his appearance in 1988. When he left this earth he left behind his sisters Karen and Susan, his two children, many nieces and nephews, his Grandson Jordan and his partner of twenty plus years, Lynn.

Growing up with Richard as my dad, we learned to fish, play pool, work on cars, how to patch a hole in the wall and, I (along with my brother and older cousins), could probably sell a car to just about anyone. My Dad was quirky to say the least. He loved many things, a good golf game, a walk in the desert with his furry companion, spending hours in the garage doing absolutely nothing, hearing about his grandson hitting a triple in his game on a Saturday morning and he LOVED telling “dad jokes.” Sometimes he would preface it by saying, “I have a dad joke.” If you knew my dad you would have known he never ate dinner before 8 o’clock and he would be asleep 10 minutes later with a Louis L’Amour book in his lap or a John Wayne western on the TV with the volume way too high. My dad loved telling stories when we would come over to visit. He would never pass up the opportunity to show me something he made out in the garage or something he found at a yard sale. Half the time he would try sending it home with me! He told me stories about him and his brother (Uncle Bobby, I hope you found Dad up there), getting into trouble over the years or how he bought me a 1967 red Mustang when I was 16 and I never drove it because it didn’t have power steering!

I hope if you’re reading this you can picture some of the good times you shared with my Dad. I hope you can remember him like I do with plaid shorts on, shoes from a Big 5 sale, and a hat with a logo of a team he couldn’t even name. To me, he was the fixer of all things, the protector, the teacher and the best dad i could have hoped for. Dad, you did good. It’s your time to rest now and watch us from above.

We will not have any services for Richard; his wish was to be spread in a few of his favorite places. He will accompany me to California in July so we can do this as a family.