David Swanson

David Swanson, a lifelong Rhode Islander, died on October 23, 2025, in his home in Bristol. He was 82 years old.

Born in Providence to Swedish Americans Florence V. and Sture T. Swanson, he grew up in the Edgewood section of Cranston, just one hundred yards from the water. At the Edgewood Yacht Club, he learned to sail as a child, and his love for Narragansett Bay and boating began. Over the years he would compete in Beetle Catboats, International One-Tens, Etchells, and finally Herreshoff S-Boats. His skill at the helm resulted in his winning the 60th Anniversary Regatta in 1979, sailing his boat Surprise to first place. Forty years later he participated in the 100th Anniversary race, crewing aboard the same vessel.

His love of boating was equal to his love of travel with his wife Kathryn. Whether it was traveling by ship to South America, Australia and around the Galapagos Islands, by train through Switzerland and western Canada, by car for a ten week road trip to explore the American West, or by plane every winter to a Caribbean island, David was always curious about new and interesting places.

He loved his home in Bristol, tending by himself to his one-acre lot on Ferry Road, trimming the roadside hedge, pruning the wisteria, and riding his lawnmower to cut the grass. He had been a Rogers Free Library trustee for many years and was chairman of its expansion and renovation campaign that ended in 2008. He was a member of the Bristol Yacht Club for more than 30 years, powering his Dyer 29 Goosebumps to its mooring there for the last time this past June. He was a keen bridge player, going to the Viking Bridge Club every Tuesday afternoon with his neighbor Mike Lenarcic.

David graduated from Cranston High School East and graduated Wentworth Institute of Technology. He then trained at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida to fly A-4 Skyhawks, he served as a Naval Officer on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt off the coast of Vietnam. He was also stationed on the U.S.S. Shangri-La in the Mediterranean. After his five years of active duty, he returned to Rhode Island and flew helicopters with the R.I. Army National Guard based at Quonset. He completed a degree in mechanical engineering at Roger Williams University. He was a self-employed contractor for much of his professional life.

In November 1974, he met Kathryn Dunn at an S-boat sailors' political fundraiser house party in Edgewood. She too grew up in that neighborhood, just three streets away from his childhood home. They were married eleven months later and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in October. Kathryn was his loyal crew in many of his sailing adventures and always sat in the first mate's chair aboard their powerboat, enjoying trips to Block Island, Cuttyhunk, and Martha's Vineyard. David especially enjoyed being with friends and family on his boat on Sunday afternoons in the summer.

This past June, David was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He received compassionate and professional care at the Providence V. A. Medical Center's oncology department. In these last weeks, he also received sympathetic and respectful nursing care from Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice.

David is survived by Kathryn, his brother Richard of Dallas, Texas, and his family; Kathryn's sisters Susan Dunn Ponteri and her husband Joseph R. Ponteri of Oak Brook, Illinois, and their family; Paula Dunn Doherty of Chicago, Illinois and her family. They were all dear to him, especially the youngest members of this extended family, who called him "Captain Uncle David."

Those who wish to honor David's memory may donate to the Rogers Free Library in Bristol or to the East Bay Sailing Foundation at the Bristol Yacht Club.

When you are on Narragansett Bay, please take a moment to think of another Rhode Islander who appreciated its beauty all of his life, David Swanson.