Daniel Wilbert Swain

Daniel Wilbert Swain of Cherokee Iowa passed away on April 19, 2021.  Dan was born in Milbank SD on Aug 12, 1934, the fourth of five children born to Rev Bruce Wright Swain and Alice (Moeller) Swain.  His early years were spent in Jefferson City, MO, but as the war drew to a close, his family relocated to Winner, SD.   After graduating from Winner High in 1952, Dan enlisted in the army.  He served in Europe, where he drove ambulance and forged several lifelong friendships.  The GI bill provided the support he needed to enroll in the University of South Dakota.  It was there, in a chemistry class, that he met Dorothy Wubbena.  So smitten was he by her charms, that he barely passed the class (she got an A).  They were wed in December of 1958.  Despite the setback in that chemistry class, Dan went on to earn a master’s degree in psychology.  He served as a psychologist at the Minnesota Home School for Delinquent Girls in Sauk Center MN for six years.  As a practicing psychologist, he became interested in the connection between mental illness and religion.  So, in 1967, he enrolled in the Virginia Theological Seminary and moved his family, which now included three children, to Alexandria, VA.  After graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1969, Dan and his family moved to Cherokee IA where Dan served as chief psychologist at the Cherokee Mental Health Institute until his retirement 30 years later.

 Dan enjoyed tinkering with electronics, being a member of the Episcopal church community, writing bad poetry, and keeping bees.  He liked Agatha Christie mysteries, James Bond movies, and chocolate chip cookies.  The center of his universe was his family. 

 Dan is survived by his wife Dorothy Wubbena Swain; his children, Elisabeth (Jeff Klahn) Swain, Amy (Judd) Lyons, and Will (Suellen) Swain; his grandsons, Alex (Kara) Baldwin, Ben and Sam Lyons, Max and Henry Swain; and a great grandson, Parker Baldwin.

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