Douglas Swan Obituary

"I love you so much, you can't touch it. Your mother and I have enjoyed you. Take care of your mother-tell her I loved her the first time I saw her." These were among the last words spoken to me, Scott Swan, by my father, Douglas (Doug) George Swan, on the morning he passed away on October 8, 2024, at the age of 87 at Togus Veteran's Hospital in Augusta.

Doug was born in Dixfield, Maine, on November 11, 1936, to Bartlett (Bart) and Dorothy Swan (née Gagnon). His Veteran's Day birth would prove fateful, as Doug took great pride in his six years of military service. He trained as a jet engine technician on the then newly-built B52 Stratofortress for the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in the United States Air Force (USAF). Doug enlisted in 1953, going through basic training alongside his brother, Wayne Bartlett Swan (1935-2009), during the closing months of the Korean War. Although Doug scored high enough on the entrance exam to apply for pilot training, he was only 17 and had not yet graduated high school, so with his parents' permission, he chose instead to join his brother in the military. "I needed to go in with my big brother-he'd be lost without me," he would tease with his characteristic smile. He quickly earned his GED after basic training and received further technical training on the newly developed B-52 Stratofortress. His military service included deployments to Korea, Spain, and Greenland.

After a brief hiatus in 1959, Doug returned to Dixfield to work as a carpenter with his father, Bart. In early 1960, he decided to rejoin the USAF, but fate intervened when he met Joy (née Jacqueline Savage, born 1930) while dancing one night at a club in Rumford. "I loved her the first time I saw her." He never returned to the military, marrying Joy in 1961. They settled in East Wilton, where Doug began a long career working with timber and wood, as a lumberjack and mill worker, then as a salesman for a local lumber company, and finally as a carpenter and independent home builder in both Maine and Florida, where he purchased a winter home in 1976. "I was best when I was working for myself," he often said.

In addition to his primary career, Doug operated several businesses throughout his life. He and Joy ran a take-out pizza place in Weld, Maine, in the 1960s, he owned a mini-backhoe business in the 1980s, and he concluded his working life as the owner/operator of Doug's Dogs, a hotdog stand he ran in Florida during the winters until 1998 and in Maine during the summers until 2015.

Doug valued character over status. "What you did yesterday, what title you have-that doesn't impress me. What kind of person are you? What are you going to do today? Tomorrow?" He did not believe in resting on his previous accomplishments and continually sought to better himself in his work and his personal life: "I always wanted to be better than I was yesterday," he would say, and he therefore lived with few regrets, fully aware of a life lived on his own terms. He was principled, selfless, and treated others honorably, earning the genuine love of family and friends. Doug was generous to a fault, quietly offering his time and support to many without seeking recognition.

Long before Habitat for Humanity became well-known, Doug built several homes for lower-income families in the Farmington/Wilton area, often at cost, and helped secure low-interest loans through the banks he worked with. He was accepting of all people and met each person on their own terms, giving respect without judgment. In 1972, he became the first contractor in Franklin County to hire women on a construction crew. "My only requirement was that they could carry a bundle of shingles up a ladder," he said. In Florida, he not only hired African Americans but worked alongside them, learning from them about building with cement block.

Doug was the last of his immediate generation in the Swan clan. After the passing of his parents, he grew closer to Wayne, whose death in 2009 affected him deeply. Doug is survived by his devoted wife of 62 years, Joy; their son Scott and his wife Suzanne; and his grandchildren, Cara Swan and Jonathon Swan, along with their spouses, Gavin Racz and Arielle Spinner, respectively. Some of Doug's cherished last memories are the hugs and kisses of his great-grandchildren through Cara - Amelia, Theodore (Teddy), and Simon. "I am glad they enjoy being here with us," Doug said in the last summer of his life as he watched his grandchildren play on the beach at the summer camp on Webb Lake in Weld. Doug just missed his latest great grandson - the newly arrived Jasper, who was born on October 16 - eight days after Doug's passing. He would have appreciated the sense of renewal in Jasper's birth.

Doug is also survived by his stepchildren through Joy: Leon (Butch) White, who passed in 2020, and Starr Jones (née White). Although he was a stepfather to Butch and Starr, Doug was a genuine dad to both, and his bond with them was as close as that of a parent and child. Butch relied on Doug for advice on matters both practical and personal. Butch's son, Troy White, and his spouse, Monica, also survive, and Doug impacted significantly Troy's life as a teenager and later in Troy's life with Monica. Troy's nephew and Butch's grandson, Parker White, also benefited from having Doug in his life as he was constant presence in his life at their shared home in Norridgewock.

Doug was a loving father to Starr and her husband, Lawrence (Lonny) Jones, offering unwavering support during Starr's early motherhood and encouraging Lonny to pursue a career as a master electrician. He gifted them one of their first lake cottages, an A-frame that he had previously built on a mountain in New Sharon. He then helped them take it apart and relocate it and rebuild it on Webb Lake. Doug performed these selfless acts not for recognition but out of genuine love and compassion for his family. He was a caring step-grandfather to Starr's son, Warren, and his wife, Monique, as well as their son, Benjamen. He also had step-grandchildren from Lonny, including Lonny Jr. and his wife Michelle, and step-great-grandchildren Julia, James, Alex, and Jeremiah.

While many obituaries highlight achievements, Doug's enduring legacy is his example of living an honest, unselfish, and generous life - a life lived through giving of himself more than taking from others. Doug was failed by others, but he never wanted to fail others in turn. For this, he was genuinely loved by those close to him. He was quick with a warm smile and a witty - sometimes teasing - quip that welcomed family and friends. Individual memories are too numerous to recount here, and family and friends will save them for Doug's celebration of life, which will take place in May, 2025 at the summer camp in Weld that he built in 1967 and that hold so many memories for his friends and family.

Doug was a proud Mainer and loved the scent of pine trees, so the lyrics from a Kolton Moore song provide a lasting tribute:

Put me to peace in the pines

Take me to the land where I was dealt my hand

Put me to peace in the pines.