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overwhelming."
• "Swenson along with other members of the Lutheran church met with the Pope on bridging the gap between two religions. But it was small talk that built a bond between the two religious figures.
• "Swensen said, "Somebody had told him that I had gone to Notre Dame for graduate school and he got a hold of that one and that, of course, was how he identified me. And he said, I see that you had to go to Notre Dame to get a good Catholic education."
• "They were fond memories Swenson says will always be a highlight in his life. "It struck me because you can not help but love John Paul the second and I loved him and I only knew him for a short time."
• "While Swensen was in awe of John Paul the second, his meetings with the Pope did prove fruitful."
• Swenson also became very good friends with Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI.
• He was employed secularly from 1995 to 1997 where he worked as a director of advertising for a radio station, he worked in television and also for Notre Dame Public Radio.
• South Dakota ELCA Bishop Andrea Nesdahl DeGroot then drafted Swenson to become the pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Groton in 1997 as Emmanuel Lutheran became a solo congregation. He served the Groton congregation until 2003.
• He is survived by his wife Stacy Swenson (married in 2003 in Groton), Yakima, Wash., step sons, Alex Bretsch, Frederick; and Jordan Seaman, Fargo; one son, Tim Swenson of Fairhope, AL; one daughter, Karissa Coggins of Indianapolis, IN; one sister, Sue Boynton of Aberdeen, S.D; four  grandchildren, Will, Connor, Izabel and Nathan; other relatives and friends.
• He was proceeded in death by his parents.
• Inurnment will be in Watertown Cemetery, S.D.