[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 33 (Thursday, March 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE MEMORY OF MR. JOEL O. SWANSON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 17, 2005

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, Mobile County, and indeed the entire State 
of Alabama, recently lost a dear friend, and I rise today to honor him 
and pay tribute to his memory.
  Mr. Joel O. Swanson was a devoted family man and dedicated community 
leader throughout his life. A native of Mobile, Alabama, Mr. Swanson 
moved at an early age to Port Arthur, Texas, with his father and 
mother, Captain and Mrs. Joel Arvid Swanson. In 1951, he and his family 
moved back to Mobile and established the advertising department for a 
local supermarket chain, Delchamps. Over the next four decades, he 
worked tirelessly to continue Delchamps' growth in the Mobile area, 
serving as advertising manager, corporate secretary, and executive vice 
president. He continued to work in the family business until his 
retirement in 1991.
  In the midst of his intense professional schedule, Mr. Swanson always 
found time to serve with many community organizations and on several 
boards of directors. He served as president of the boards for the 
Mobile Mental Health Association, the Lions Club of Mobile, the Mobile 
Opera, and Symphony Concerts of Mobile. Additionally, he was a member 
of the Lions Club of Mobile and took an active role in the Museum of 
Mobile Board and the Friends of the Library.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a 
dedicated community leader and friend to many throughout South Alabama. 
Mr. Swanson will be deeply missed by his family--his wife of 61 years, 
Marilyn Morris Swanson; his children, Jan Swanson, Joel Craig Swanson, 
and Kirk Swanson; and one granddaughter--as well as the countless 
friends he leaves behind. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at 
this difficult time.

                          ____________________