ROCKFORD, IL (August 25, 2010) – A funeral service for retired Evangelical Covenant Church pastor Emmet W. Swanson, 91, was held at 11 a.m. Monday at Broadway Covenant Church. He died August 18.

Swanson was born September 18, 1918, in Harcourt, Iowa, the son of Victor and Hanna Swanson. He married Irene M. Williams March 26, 1944, in Berkeley, California. She preceded him in death.

After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at North Park College and attended North Park Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1955.

Swanson served as pastor at five Covenant congregations: Richland Covenant Church in Richland, Michigan; First Covenant and Salem Covenant Churches in Oakland, Nebraska; Valley Covenant Church in Stillman Valley, Illinois; and North Park Covenant Church in Rockford.

Survivors include two daughters, Sheryl Tidwell of Crossville, Tennessee, and Arlene Schweiger of Davis Junction, Illinois; and one son, Douglas Swanson of Rockford.

Burial was in Stillman Valley Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Broadway Covenant Church, the Rockford Rescue Mission, or North Park Theological Seminary.