Bill Duane Swanson

Bill Duane Swanson, the son of William and Anne (Heuss) Swanson, was born November 6, 1935, at the Manning Hospital in Manning, Iowa and died March 24, 2022, at his home in Ankeny, Iowa at the age of 86 years.

Bill was baptized at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Ross, Iowa. He attended rural school Leroy #2 south of Ross and graduated from the Audubon High School with the Class of 1954. After graduation, he was employed as a farm hand for a few years.

On February 23, 1957, he was united in marriage to Doreen Voss at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. They moved to Englewood, California for one year where he was employed at a picture frame company. In 1958, they moved back to Audubon where he began farming. He grew field crops, milked dairy cows, and raised beef cattle. Bill and Doreen were blessed with three daughters, Beverly, Charlotte, and Sandy. In 1975, they moved to the family farm south of Ross where he continued to farm until he retired in 1996. Bill and Doreen moved to Ankeny, Iowa in 2006 to be closer to their family, although his heart never left the family farm. Throughout his life, Bill enjoyed family events, cherished his grandchildren, and developed a passion for collecting toy tractors, especially John Deere.

Preceding him in death were his parents William and Anne; his sister Carol and husband Bill Honeck; his mother-in-law and father-in-law Carl and Lola Voss; and his sister-in-law Donna Lou and husband Don Toft.

Survivors include his wife Doreen Swanson of Ankeny, Iowa; his daughters, Beverly and husband Tom Atkins of Johnston, Iowa, Charlotte and husband Joel Schmidt of Clive, Iowa, Sandy Nelson and Patrick Horan of Ankeny; his grandchildren: Joshua Clemens and significant other Nicole Ascheman of Beaverdale, Iowa, Zachary Clemens of Ankeny, Nathan Clemens of Des Moines, Iowa, Cory and wife Jessica Schmidt of Adel, Iowa, Miki and husband Nate Weber of Waukee, Iowa, Jeremy and wife Kristy Schmidt of Urbandale, Iowa, Tylor Nelson of Stuart, Iowa, and Tiffany Nelson of Austin, Texas; his great grandchildren: Hali’a, Cael, Chloe, Lilly, Evie, Dorie, Gwyneth, Siena, Garrett, Alexa, and Caden; his brother Ronald and wife Shirley Swanson of Audubon; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 28, 2022, at 11:00 A.M. at the Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon, Iowa with Pastor Jay Quick officiating. Interment will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon. Honorary casket bearers will be: Miki Weber and Tiffany Nelson. Casket bearers will be: Cory Schmidt, Joshua Clemens, Zachary Clemens, Nathan Clemens, Jeremy Schmidt, and Tylor Nelson. The family will greet friends on Monday morning from 10:00 A.M. until the time of the service at the Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon.