Andrew Nicholas Swanson

Andrew Nicholas Swanson M.D.,

36, of Minneapolis and North

Mankato, died Thursday, June 11,

2009 in a mountain climbing accident

on Mt. McKinley, Alaska.

Andrew was born in Rochester,

MN, to Dr. Gene and Edythe

McDougall Swanson on November

9, 1972. Andrew graduated

from Mankato West High

School in 1991. He received his

B.S. with honors from Dartmouth

University in 1995 where he was president of

the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club. He received his

medical degree from the University of Chicago in 2000.

In 2005, he completed his orthopedic residency at the

Hospital for Special Surgery, in New York, NY and in

2006, he completed his fellowship in spine surgery at

the Twin Cities Spine Center in Minneapolis. In 2007,

he completed a traveling fellowship in Europe with the

Cervical Spine Research Society. He practiced with his

father and brother at the Orthopedic and Fracture Clinic

in Mankato.

Andrew’s honors were many and included research grants

and awards. His passion for others was best illustrated

by his eight trips to Ghana, Africa , where he performed

surgery on children with severe spinal deformities.

He reveled in the difficulty of climbing peaks in Peru,

Bolivia, and Alaska. Andrew was a pilot, an avid cyclist,

an explorer, a brilliant surgeon and a blessing to all who

knew him. In the words of his mother, “He had the most

wonderful face in the world. He was so handsome, so

kind, so irresistible. If you knew him, you loved him.�

Andrew is survived by his parents, Dr. Gene and Eydie

Swanson of North Mankato; siblings, Molly (Tim) Britt

of Newport Beach, CA, Dr. Kyle Swanson and partner,

Ashley Marks of Mankato, Heidi (Vann) Avedisian of

Winnetka, IL; seven adoring nieces and nephews, Eliza,

Nick, Carter, and Lily Britt, Brooke, Luke, and Avery

Avedisian; many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday,

June 18, 2009 at First Presbyterian Church, 220 East

Hickory St. in Mankato, with Rev. Dawn Carder and

Rev. Dr. John Buchanan of Fourth Presbyterian Church

in Chicago co-officiating. Visitation will be held from

4 – 8 p.m., Wednesday at the Mankato Mortuary, 1001

N. Riverfront Dr., and will resume one hour before the

service at the church on Thursday.

Andrew volunteered his time for several weeks each year

with the organization FOCOS, performing spine surgery

on children in Ghana, Africa. To give to the Andrew

Swanson Memorial at FOCOS, send donations to PO

Box 665 Lenox Hill Station, New York, NY, 10021

(www.orthofocos.org).

A further tribute to Andrew can be found at www.

snyoptek.com/andrew.