Roger Brandon Swaren

Roger Brandon Swaren was born near Killdeer, ND on March 15, 1921 to Henry \u0026amp; Gladys Swaren. Roger joined his sister Marjorie and they were later joined by younger brother Glenn. Roger loved to recount his early years on the ranch caring for the sheep, cows and especially the horses. He told about various adventures riding across the ranch in search of a stray sheep or cow, just him and his horse Sailor Boy. Two quick stories stand out. The first is of a time when Sailor Boy thought he could jump a ditch and Roger went head-over-teakettle. Another was more serious. Roger told of being out too long in the winter looking for strays. A snow storm came upon them and Sailor Boy had the good sense to find the way home in a whiteout. After a tragedy that took his younger brother Glenn\u0027s life, the family moved to Portland, OR when Roger was 15. Roger gave his life to Christ at a neighborhood church 2 years later. On the next Thanksgiving he had the impression he should do something for someone else, so he volunteered at a downtown mission in Portland. As part of that ministry he subsequently helped establish a Sunday School in West Linn, OR where he met Georgiann Beam. Thanks to faithful chaperones, the two had a fruitful courtship period that led to 73 years of marriage. Because of the need for personnel during WWII, Roger enlisted in the US Army and served as a Chaplain\u0027s Assistant in England and France. Working for chaplains of various denominations, Roger had varied responsibilities preparing for services, preparing and printing bulletins and other handouts. He even had the responsibility of driving to a nearby prisoner of war camp to pick up and escort a German soldier who played the organ for the Sunday services. Upon his return to Oregon in 1945, Roger and Georgiann enrolled in Cascade College. Both were loyal Cascade alumni, missing few of the annual reunion gatherings. After graduation, Roger enrolled in the Western School of Evangelical Religion, later known as Western Evangelical Seminary. Roger\u0027s first church during seminary was, as he put it, The Methodist Church in Boring, OR, insisting that it never be called the boring Methodist Church. He went on to serve seven churches in the Pacific Conference of the Evangelical Church: Canby Evangelical Church, Fruitland Community Church, Glenfair Evangelical Church, Tigard/Trinity Evangelical Church, Mapleton Evangelical Church, Hopewell Evangelical Church and Fruitland Community Church once again. Roger \u0026quot;retired\u0026quot; in 1988 after three years at Fruitland, but continued serving the church another five years until 1993. After 45 years of ministry, when he was 72 years old, he re-retired. Upon leaving the pastorate, Roger began working with Capital Investigations serving legal documents throughout most of metropolitan Portland. During this time, he discovered the better locations for donuts and was able arrange fairly regular stops to recharge his batteries. Roger worked at this until he was 80 and decided it was time to finally retire. Then he \u0026quot;un-retired\u0026quot; when he was offered a desk job with the company. Roger continued in this role until he retired for a third or fourth and final time at 83. While working at Capital Investigations, Roger continued his role as servant of the Lord Jesus by bringing the light of the Gospel into the work place. Upon hearing of Roger\u0027s death, a former co-worker wrote: \u0026quot;Roger Swaren had retired from many years of pastoring churches throughout Oregon when he came to work at Capitol Investigation. I believe he was close to 80 years old at the time. He was hired as a process server, and oh man did he have stories to tell. He loved to tell people, \u0027I used to comfort the afflicted, now I afflict the comfortable.\u0027 \u0026quot;He taught me more about walking the walk of a Christian and he was a shining example of Jesus\u0027s love. He took time out of his days to teach me so much as we met at lunch for a bible study. He told me years later that he loved to hear me say, \u0027I never knew that, I can\u0027t wait to tell Dwayne!.\u0027 What an amazing mentor he was to me.\u0026quot; Throughout retirement Roger continued ministry whether at Capital Investigations or local retirement centers, visiting the lonely and conducting services. Ministry was \u0026quot;in his blood\u0026quot; and he faithfully fulfilled his calling. Roger suffered a fall on Saturday, July 9th, sustaining a broken neck. On Sunday morning, July 17th the Lord he loved invited Roger into His glorious presence. Roger is survived by his wife of 73 years, Georgiann, son Steve and wife Patti of Gresham, OR, daughter Suzanne and her husband Bob Warren of Vancouver, WA. Roger \u0026amp; Georgiann have 3 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren: Michelle Miller and husband Glen in Hampton, VA with Luke, Micah, Josiah and Caleb; Steve and Kelly Warren in Spokane, WA with Trainor, Ryley and Tierney; and David and Izabel Warren in Cubatao, Brazil with Samantha and Levi."",