Harold "Jake" F. Swanson, age 81 passed away on March 15, 2026 at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center of Rockford, surrounded by family, after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.
Jake was born in Elgin, Illinois, the son of Harold and Vera Swanson on December 12, 1944. He attended school in Algonquin until his family moved to Huntley when he was in 4th grade. He graduated from Huntley High School in 1962, where he was active in FFA and various sports.
On July 10, 1971, he married the love of his life, Dorthy (Gray) Swanson. They enjoyed 54 years together and had 4 wonderful children.
He held many jobs over the years, from truck driver, farmer, bartender, and maintenance technician. Jake retired from Revcor in Carpentersville in 2008, working there for 30 years, being the maintenance supervisor for many.
In his free time, Jake enjoyed camping, golfing, and spending time with family and friends. Happy Hour on the patio was his favorite time of day.
He is survived by his wife Dorthy (Gray); children, Jackie Wiegel, Jacob Swanson (Brandy), Jennifer Bruso (Jeff), and Jessica Markgraf (Michael); 13 grandchildren; and 2 great grandchildren.
Jake was preceded in death by his parents, 1 sister, 5 brothers, and various aunts, uncles, and cousins.
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2026, from 11am-3pm in Huntley, Illinois, at the American Legion Post 673.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to parkinson.org.
Cremation services provided by DeFiore Funeral Home, 10763 Dundee Road, Huntley. For further information, please contact the funeral home at 847-515-8772 or leave online condolences at www.defiorefuneral.com.
Please leave a video condolence by entering your name and click the "Record" button below. You can always preview your video prior to submitting it. Please note that you may receive a prompt to grant DefioreFuneral access to your camera. This is only temporary and will be solely for the duration of recording your condolence message.
My condolences for your loss. Keeping the family in my thoughts and prayers during this time. Jake lived a full life surrounded with family and love. I still remember the big family Christmases growing up at Jake and Dorthy’s and how special that was.
thanks for the memories
Deepest sympathies to Dorthy & the kids.
My sincere condolences to Dorothy and family.
Sorry to hear about your husband, Dorothy
Swanson family I am so sorry for your loss!! Jake was the sweetest man and was like a father to Mike which made me love Jake even more . He will be truly missed 😘
My thoughts & prayers are with you Dorthy and your whole family. Hugs to all of you!🥰
So sorry to hear the bad/sad news….we knew them all……brother Stu was my roommate at NIU……..brother Dick was my baseball coach……Great family…..
We are so sorry for your loss, Dorthy and family. Jake always seemed like a very kind person. He will be missed.