St. Charles mourns former fire chief Larry Swanson

It's been eight years since Larry Swanson held the title of chief at the St. Charles Fire Department, but his legacy there is far from forgotten.

Swanson, who died of a heart attack Monday at age 63, is remembered for the strides he made expanding the office over 21 years as chief, and the countless firefighters he hired and inspired along the way.

"By the time he retired (in 2002), I'm pretty sure every firefighter on the job had been hired while he was chief," said his son, Kevin Swanson, a firefighter in Geneva.

A visitation is planned for 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Norris Funeral Home, 100 S. Third St., with a private burial to follow Friday.

Assistant Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet, who worked under Swanson for 16 years, remembered Swanson was a "strong chief" who embodied "what it means to be a firefighter."

"The things he stood for were duty and dedication to the job," Schelstreet said. "You will be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated public servant, and he believed in passing that along."

A lifelong St. Charles resident, Swanson got his start in the fire service in 1968 after he became interested in either police or firefighting work. His daughter, Amie Wolff of Bartlett, said Swanson grew up poor, and his passion for helping people in need led him to a career in public safety.

"He felt like anything he had was more than somebody else had," said Wolff, 38. "He was a simple man who liked to help people."

Swanson entered the fire service in 1968 as a paid/on-call firefighter at the recommendation of Schelstreet's father, who also was a firefighter. He went to full-time in 1972 and, two years later, was promoted to captain.

After becoming chief in 1981, Swanson was instrumental in the creation of two new fire stations, the Tri-City Ambulance cooperative, and an emergency call system that still serves the area.

He often took his children to work, too.

"We would always go to the station to play on trucks and slide down the pole," Wolff said. "All of the firefighters were like family, they were so good to us."

Kevin Swanson, 31, said his father "absolutely" inspired him to become a firefighter, and supported him when he joined the St. Charles department part-time in 1994.

"He said, 'I want you to do whatever it is that's going to make you happy,' " he said. "But him being fire chief, it was very hard for him to really give me too much help without making my life difficult. He was probably harder on me than most."

Kevin Swanson said being fire chief "came naturally" to his father, who was mechanically inclined and enjoyed all parts of the job, from working on trucks to leading others.

"It was that intellectual challenge of making the fire department better and the city a better place to live," he said. "When he retired, he told me, 'I'm not going to miss the meetings or the budgets, but I'm going to miss the guys.' "

Swanson stepped down as chief in 2002 and quickly distanced himself from the department to avoid "undermining" the new administration, his children said.

"He didn't want to overstep his bounds," Wolff said.

Though he remained active in retirement on the city fire pension board and with numerous professional organizations, Swanson shifted his focus to becoming a licensed gunsmith and opened a business. He also enjoyed traveling with his wife of nearly 42 years, Karen, and spending time with his four grandchildren.