Dinh Thi Swanson Obituary (1943 - 2020)

Dinh Thi Swanson, age 77, passed away peacefully on November 24th, 2020 at the North Florida Regional Hospital in Gainesville. From her birth on October 19th, 1943 to her death on Tuesday she brightened the world around her with boundless friendship, generosity, and sincerity. She was born in Hue, the historic imperial capital of Vietnam, and entered her grandmother's care at the age of four. Despite the challenges facing her country she distinguished herself as a free-spirited and witty youth with a love of adventure and a thirst for new experiences. It was her intelligent, inquisitive nature that led her to work as a translator/interpreter for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and it was her wit and beauty that attracted John Swanson when he first visited the Regional USAID Office in Da Nang. Two years later Dinh and John married on August 14th, 1970 in Quang Tri City, at Province Headquarters. The young couple then embarked on a 50-year journey that saw them living in St. Paul, MN; Columbia, MO; Springfield, VA; Cairo, Egypt; Sana'a, Yemen; Islamabad, Pakistan; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Fairfax, VA; and Gainesville, FL. Along the way she made many lifelong friends and raised a family, all while working at a variety of jobs. While living abroad she visited Kenya, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. From Gainesville, trips to Guatemala, Costa Rica, Portugal, Spain, and Cuba were special. While in Gainesville she has actively been a volunteer at Dudley Farm State Park, the Gainesville Camellia Society, and has served as a clerk during several elections. She was most proud of her work assisting Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and most content relaxing in the garden she and John built around their Gainesville home. She is survived by her beloved husband, John, and her two children, Megan and Steven. Dinh was preceded in her death by her parents, her grandmother, and a son, Neil. She will be remembered as a vibrant, irrepressible friend to all those whose life she touched. Because of Covid a memorial service to honor Dinh's life will be held by Zoom at a date yet to be determined. Her charity of preference is St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis. Arrangements are in the care of MILAM FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICES 311 S. Main Street, Gainesville, Fl 32601 (352) 376-5361. www.milamfh.com.