Richard was born November 28th in a Christian home to Lonnie and Jessie and lived most of his live in Morgan Hill, California then retired to Madison, TN.
Richard was loved by many as he made his journey through life. Richard was an electrician by trade, but was also a person who had many different talents in all kinds of fields. He loved horses and music. He trained and showed Hackney ponies. He won several awards. He loved the steel guitar and played in several bands while in California and Tennessee. He drove a tour bus for musicians while in Tennessee. His father played the banjo, so they both shared a love of music which is passed down to his grandson. Richard made a lot of friends along the way and always took time to visit while he was either driving to horse shows or touring on the bus across the country. It was not uncommon to get a phone call saying, "I'm driving through town, wanna grab a bite and visit?" If you ever visited Richard while in California, it was not uncommon to get a tour of San Francisco, go to Monterey Bay on the Pacific coast for lunch, go to Santa Cruz or just enjoy good conversation and a meal of homemade vegetable soup that his mother made.
Richard had a strong faith. During his chemo appointments, instead of hearing him say, “pray for me so I can get through this appointment,†he would say, “pray for me so I can be a blessing to someone else.†He was always thinking of others and wanted to be the best he could be.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Alonzo, "Lonnie," Swiger, his mother Jessie Violet (Keith) Swiger, his brother, Lonnie Lee Swiger, his son, Richard Steven Swiger, his son's mother, Melinda McClain, and aunts Marybelle Mercier, Hazel Swartz, and Bettylou Baker. Richard loved his son Rich, who was a pilot for the Army and was saddened to have lost him at the early age of 30.
Richard is survived by his longtime, loving companion “Lisa†Guizhi Xu, grandson Aric Swiger, daughter-in-law, Lindsey Kanous, aunt June McGarry, uncle Andy (Jan) Keith, many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of special friends. He was very proud of his grandson, Aric and enjoyed sharing his love of music with him. He dearly loved Lisa, she was always by his side.
A celebration of life may be planned at a later date. In the meantime, please visit the Facebook page set up in Richard’s memory at:
https://www.facebook.com/richardswigermemorialpage
