Ernest "Ernie" Lee Swenson was born on October 9, 1939 in Jackson County, Minnesota to Milford and Ora Jeanette (Nesmoe) Swenson. He was baptized in December of 1939 at the Bethany Lutheran Church in Bergen, Minnesota and later confirmed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Windom, Minnesota in 1955. Ernie attended elementary school in rural Delafield Township. Ernie joined the Army National Guard while in high school and served for 9 years. He graduated from Windom Area High School in 1957. On February 15, 1964, Ernest was united in marriage to Frances Smith at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Lexington, MN. They made their home in Windom. Through those years he worked on the family farm southwest of Windom, drove truck for Schweitzer's Flax Plant, and in 1972 he started as a coast-to-coast over-the-road truck driver. He did that until 1983 when he felt a call to serve the Lord and was accepted into Lutheran Brethren Seminary in Fergus Falls, MN. He graduated in 1987 and returned to Windom to serve as interim pastor at Living Word Lutheran Church where he was ordained in June of 1989. In 1990 he was called to serve dual parishes in Frederic, Wisconsin where he stayed until retirement in 2005. After retirement he returned to Windom and became active at Lutheran Church of Our Savior serving as assistant pastor until fully retiring due to the progression of Inclusion Body Myositis making daily activities difficult. Ernie passed away suddenly on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at the Good Samaritan Society- Sogge Memorial in Windom, Minnesota. Ernie enjoyed spending time with his family, hunting and fishing, reading, socializing, sprint car races in Jackson, cars and trucks, and a good old-fashioned western. He is survived by his loving wife, Frances Swenson of Windom; three sons, Brian Swenson of Minneapolis, Darrin Swenson of Worthington and Chad Swenson of Minneapolis; one grandchild Sigrid Thomatz; brothers Darel Swenson of Plymouth, Douglas (Alba) Swenson of Mounds View and Kenneth (Shirley) Swenson of Sauk Rapids; and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Milford and Ora Swenson and sister Avis Story. Blessed be the memory of Ernest "Ernie" Lee Swenson *Due to the current CDC guidelines, the service is private for family only. A live stream of the service will be available on LaCanne Family Funeral Home's Facebook page starting at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, May 12th. The service will be recorded and available for later viewing.