Clifford W. 'Tete' Swarthout — Pine Island
Clifford W. "Tete" Swarthout, 81, of Pine Island, died Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014, at his home in Pine Island.
The memorial service will be held Monday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. at The Presbyterian Church of Oronoco, with Pastor Lisa Johnson officiating. Burial will be in the spring in Oronoco Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Sunday, Feb. 23, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Mahn Family Funeral Home-Mahler Chapel in Pine Island.
Clifford William Swarthout was born Sept. 29, 1932, in Oronoco, to Merle and Olive (nee Cowden) Swarthout. He grew up in rural Oronoco and Pine Island, and attended country school. He worked as a farmhand until he entered the U.S. Army on April 16, 1951. He served in Okinawa during the Korean conflict. On Oct. 17, 1953, he married Joan Drazan in Rochester. Clifford was honorably discharged on April 13, 1954, and they returned to Pine Island. Clifford worked as a farmhand for a short time and then started working at Caryl Cowden's Grocery Store in Oronoco. He worked there for seven years, then Food Bonanza in Rochester for four years and then worked for 20 years doing custodial work for the Mayo Clinic. He retired in 1990. In 1996, they moved to Rochester, and in 2002, they moved to Pine Island.
Tete enjoyed woodworking, fishing and coffee with the senior citizens. He was a member of Charles Cowden American Legion Post #184 in Pine Island, Stary-Yerka VFW Post #5727 in Zumbrota, Pine Island Senior Citizens and was a deacon at The Presbyterian Church in Oronoco.
Tete is survived by his wife, Joan; nieces who he helped raise, Patti Wallace, Ann Downey and Jill Shermer; many other nieces and nephews; great-nieces, Kayla Wallace, Korryn and Krysta Downey and Alia Shermer; sisters, Marilyn (Floyd) Nord of Rochester and LouAnn Denning of Big Lake; and brother, Richard Swarthout of Aitkin.
Tete was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, Glenn, Wayne and Carl Swarthout and two sisters, Elaine Swarthout and Shirley Murray.