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I owe my dad a huge debt of gratitude. He meant
so much to me and so I thought I would share
some of what I said about him at our memorial
at the beginning of this year following his
passing on 28 December 2022. I love you dad.
Above all things, what he taught all of our
family was love. For family and friends, to
feel and show unconditional love for them, to
openly show affection. And speaking of love, I
just have to say how mum cared for dad, not
just throughout his whole life but over the last
12 months, is nothing short of amazing. I am in
awe of mum.
In regards to music, dad shared with us his
love of music which now lives on through me
and our family from James Brown “makes me
get down” to Gordon Lightfoot, Little Richard,
Elvis, Billy Joel, the Doobie Brothers, Bob
Segar, John Fogarty – everything from Motown
to Rock’n’Roll to Country & Western and
everything in between. Dad frequently called
me over and said, “Have you heard this?”
Indeed, Mikaela our eldest, often asks where
she got her musical talent from as she had
already concluded that neither her mum nor
dad could hold a note or play an instrument
with any kind of finesse, although I do disagree
as I play a mean recorder after a few beers.
Anyhow, perhaps dad could be credited with
giving Mikaela her rhythm.
For the ocean, dad instilled in Mike and me
a respect and love for the surf. He always
encouraged us to face our fears and tackle
them head on. So many good times we shared
out in huge seas daring each other to ride
THAT one.
For the officials, yep, Dad also taught us about
his unconditional love for hating refs, umpires
and sports selectors of all descriptions,
particularly those that umpired Collingwood
games and refereed State of Origin matches.
Most importantly, Dad always told us we could
never really imagine how much he loved our
family and all the kids. To that I can simply
reply by saying that I never think he could really
comprehend how much we loved him, despite
the fact he drove us up the wall at times.
Dad, you have left a huge void in our lives,
which is understandable because he stood
6’4” – how I wish he gave me that height.
We love you dad and are going to miss you like
you would not believe.
RIP Ken Swan, my dad.
11 August 1941 – 28 December 2022
Queensland footballer
State and National surf
lifesaving surfboard champion
Captain Coach of the Queensland
Men’s Water Polo team
part of the Commonwealth
Games Squad
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