Bill Swenson passed away on January 10th, 2015 from renal failure and cancer at a local hospital. He braved a long battle with extreme pain from a neck and back injury he sustained while serving with the Army in Ramadi, Iraq. His Funeral Service will be held Friday, January 16th at 10:00am in the Rose Room Chapel at Croxford Funeral Home. Visitation will be available for one hour prior to the service. Burial with Military Honors will be held at Fort Harrison Veteran Cemetery in Helena immediately following the funeral.

Bill was born in Poplar, MT on October 25, 1981. He attended Poplar schools until 1996 when he moved to Great Falls. He graduated from GFHS in 2000 and worked at Benefis hospital for a time as well as other various jobs in the community. He enlisted in the Army for 4 years and received basic training at Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri. Bill was stationed for a brief time in South Korea until more combat troops were needed in Iraq to guard the polling booths so the people could vote for the first time in history. While embedded with the Marines in Ramadi, his TRAC vehicle was hit with an IED, resulting in a spinal cord and neck injury. He spent his last two years of service at Ft Carson, Colorado. Here he met the love of his life, Christina, and they were married in 2009. Christina never left his side while married and while he was hospitalized.

Bill, being the spiritual, artistic person he was, marched to his own drum, and loved the outdoors and nature. Some of his favorite things to do were hike, fish, and camp at places like Red Coulee, Holter Lake and Glacier Park with his family and friends. He loved basketball and excelled at this sport while in high school. He used his wry sense of humor to amuse those around him, especially his older brother. One time while ice fishing, his brother dared him to swallow a minnow, and without hesitation he gulped it down. Bill was an artist, writer, and avid reader. He credits Jack Fisher, his art teacher, for teaching him how to let his creative and artistic talents flow to create original pieces of art. He loved to explore the mysteries of life and studied survival skills in the outdoors.

As his pain worsened, he spent a lot of time at home, reading, listening to music, playing Legos with his daughter, and spending quality time with Christina. He is survived by his wife, Christina; daughter Scarlett (age 3); son, Ulric (4 weeks); his mother, Nancy Swenson, all of Great Falls; his brother, Anthony (Angie) Swenson of Minot, ND; as well as his sister, Natalie (Paul) Boyd; his father, Carl Swenson and half-brothers, Brian, Brad, Darrell and half-sister, Deanne Fox, all of Bagley, MN; numerous nieces and nephews; and lastly, his beloved St Bernard dog, Atlas.

Bill's family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, Chaplain Chris and staff of Benefis ICU and the Sletten Cancer Institute for their excellent care and compassion given to Bill. And Special thanks to Jeannie & Dan.

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