06/05/2026
Rochester is a community full of people working to build a better future for all our kids. Ethan Swanson was one of those people.
He cared deeply for his family, for the natural and human-cultivated spaces in and around Rochester, and for the long-term health of our city. He was a master gardener who loved native plants and paid close attention to how the seasons changed what grew around him. He shared that knowledge the way he shared everything — with patience, gentleness, and a steadfast generosity that left people feeling like they belonged.
Many of you knew him from group rides, where his standing commitment was that no one gets left behind. Others knew him from public engagement meetings for everything from housing policy, trail funding, and roadway redesign, to discussions about park amenities. Frequently he arrived with Helen and Isaac in tow, wanting to make sure someone was present to ask: ‘Will this infrastructure actually work for them?” “Who does this design leave out?” And if you've used the downtown painted bike infrastructure at any point in the past several years, you have Ethan to thank directly — he crunched the numbers that exposed just how mathematically flawed the push to remove it was.
The day before he was hospitalized, he biked the kids home from school. Less than two weeks later, he was gone. Ethan passed away on June 3 following a diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
All who knew him would call him a friend. We were lucky to be among them.
He is survived by his wife MaKayla and their children, Helen and Isaac. His loved ones have set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral and hospitalization expenses, and a meal train is in place as well. Please give what you can — and if you can't give money, give a meal, give some time, or just reach out to someone who knew him.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ethan-swanson-and-family-gofundme
Photo of Ethan and Makayla at the 2022 Holiday Lights Ride. They were proud to tell folks that this was their date night for the month.
