Mauritz Duane Swanson

Mauritz “Duane” begin his ascent to heaven on May 7, 2024 after 92 years of great life. He was born Dec 5, 1931 in York, Nebraska; the second of five children of Mauritz Albert and LaVina Lillian (Carlson) Swanson. He was third generation Swede, a child of the depression, raised on the farm, schooled in a one room schoolhouse, and a member of the Lutheran Church. He graduated from Osceola High School in 1949 and traveled with a friend to Southern California, up the Pacific Coast, and back to Nebraska. He then graduated National Business Institute in 1950 and during the Korean War, Mauritz served in the Nebraska Air National Guard. He was discharged in 1952 after being stationed in Maine as an aircraft mechanic working on P-51 Mustangs. He credited his military service for providing a life foundation built through the GI Bill, Federal Employment and a VA Home Loan.

On May 2, 1954, he happily married Annette Elsa Hageman, and then in 1956 graduated from the Univ of Nebraska with a BS in Business Administration. His fondest memory of college was being in the card section at Nebraska football games. Upon graduation, he took a job with the IRS which became a 30-year career that took Annette and him from Nebraska to Maryland. Their children, Greg (1958) and Michelle (1963) were born in Nebraska, and Mitchell (1969) in Maryland.

The IRS transferred Mauritz from Omaha to Washington DC in 1967. They settled down in suburban Maryland. Annette and Mauritz spent over 50 years in the house on Gresham Road in Tamarack, Maryland. Mauritz helped computerize the IRS while carpooling two hours a day to and from work. Mauritz retired in 1986; he eventually loved to say “I’ve been retired longer than I worked”.

Annette and Mauritz travelled many places, including several US States, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Mexico, and to visit family in Nebraska, Tennessee, and North Carolina. They loved to grow vegetable and flower gardens and square dance. In his younger days, he considered himself a pheasant hunter, camper, and fisherman. Daily after retiring, Mauritz read the newspapers and solved many crosswords puzzles in the easy chair. A child of the depression, he valued everything. In Dec 2022, Mauritz moved to Knoxville. He lived his final years at South High Senior Living where he was given excellent and loving care.

Mauritz is preceded by his wife Annette (1934-2013), whom he shared 59 years of marriage, his parents, and brothers Don and Dwight “Bub”. He was also preceded by many fortunate dogs and cats lucky to have met Mauritz.

Mauritz is survived by his brother and sister, Daryl and Carolyn, his three children, Michelle, Greg (Carolyn), and Mitchell (Meredith), and five grandchildren, Kristopher, Kimon, Colter, Reilly, and Jessica. We will miss his reassuring words in that deep, witty midwestern accent.