Whether it had to do with highways or high art, Earl E. “Bud” Swanson was committed to improving quality of life.
The former highway commissioner from the western suburbs, also described as a gifted musician and sculptor, recently helped restore a pair of 19th Century granite goddesses back to their original luster.
“It was just one of many things that kept him occupied during his retirement,” his son Larry said with a laugh. According to newspaper accounts, the stone statues, 12 feet tall and weighing 5 tons, once stood on a ledge above the main entrance to the original Chicago Board of Trade building, but they disappeared in 1929, when the building was torn down to make way for the current one. The statues resurfaced in 1978 in the DuPage Forest Preserve.
Last year, Mr. Swanson was part of a group that returned the restored statues to the Chicago Board of Trade, which unveiled them on its outdoor plaza, marking the 75th anniversary of the landmark Art Deco building.
Mr. Swanson, 78, of Lombard, a former York Township highway commissioner and longtime Republican committeeman in DuPage County, died Monday, Oct. 16, in his home after a short battle with cancer.
Born in Oak Park, Mr. Swanson spent his childhood in Villa Park. He dropped out of high school to join the Navy in 1945. After serving for three years in the Pacific, he returned home and completed high school. He later received a bachelor’s degree from Elmhurst College.
Mr. Swanson developed many passions throughout his life, and golf was one of them. He showed his abilities at age of 13 by winning the Elmhurst Country Club Caddy Tournament. He also won the Medinah Classic in 1974, family members said.
Beginning in the early 1960s, Mr. Swanson served for 30 years as a Republican committeeman in DuPage County. In 1975, he was elected York Township highway commissioner, a position he held until 1993.
During that time, Mr. Swanson developed an improved method for filling cracks in the road, for which family members said he received a patent. He also designed and supervised the building of a new Highway Department facility in Lombard.
“Politics was a family affair that included all us kids,” his son said. “Come every election there’d be boxes and boxes of campaign pamphlets delivered to our house that we’d distribute around the neighborhood.”
Mr. Swanson’s love of the arts began as a young adult, when he played for the DuPage Symphony Orchestra after returning from the Navy. Over the years, he learned to play several instruments, including the violin, piano, organ, guitar and ukulele, family members said.
In his retirement, Mr. Swanson began sculpting with various materials and founded the non-profit Danada Sculpture Gardens Association. He sculpted the bust of his uncle–the late Russell Swanson, a former member of the DuPage County Board–which is on display at the Wheaton County Building. He also created a sculpture for the River walk in Naperville and four Norman Rockwell-like pieces in Lombard, all of which were dedicated this year, family members said.
“I’ve known Bud for many years, and there’s still so many things I’ve yet to learn about him,” said longtime friend John Thorson of Glendale Heights. “He was like a Renaissance man–a dedicated public servant, talented musician and sculptor, not to mention a scratch golfer. “
Other survivors include his wife of 52 years, Marjorie; two other sons, Earl E. III and Ron; two daughters, Grace and Jennifer Miller; two sisters, Barbara Fanslow and Elizabeth McGinnity; 16 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday in Brust Funeral Home, 135 S. Main St., Lombard. Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Community Congregational Church, 410 S. Cornell Ave., Villa Park.
