Harold Swift, age 76, Grand Marais, father, grandfather, husband, and unwavering friend to many, died on April 19, 2013 in Grand Marais.
The past CEO and COO of Hazelden Foundation, Harry is perhaps best known professionally as the founder and fashioner of the Hazelden Family Program, the first one of its kind ever offered as a key component in recovery from chemical dependency.
Along with other treatment pioneers, Dan Anderson and Gordy Grimm, Swift charted Hazelden’s corporate course as the Minnesota Model gained adherents worldwide. Together, these three were fondly known, depending on the situation at hand, as “The Triumvirate,” or “The crash team.”
Born to Harold and Hilarion Swift on December 28, 1936 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Harry served in the U.S. Army Infantry as First Lt. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work from University of Scranton and Fordham University as well as credits in alcoholism studies and business management from Rutgers University, the University of St. Thomas, the Carlson Graduate School of Business and the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute.
He served on numerous national boards of directors and received many awards, of which the Lifetime Achievement from the National Association of Treatment Programs he was most proud. Prior to moving to Grand Marais, he was also privileged to serve an internship in the office of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone studying public policy formulations and violence against women.
Swift initially came to Minnesota to fulfill a commitment to the state for a graduate school grant, serving at Willmar State Hospital as a specialist in family problems relating to alcoholism. There, he recognized that participation in Alcoholics Anonymous and Al Anon played a vital role in a successful recovery from the disease, enabling many sufferers to return to life with joy and gratitude.
Harry moved to Grand Marais to run the chemical dependency treatment program, bringing a lifetime of experience to bear in helping the chemically addicted and their families. He then mentored those who would take on his work after his retirement.
For all his accomplishments, Harry was a humble leader, once telling a newly sober person that the primary purpose of a sober life was “to help other people.” He modeled that every day. He rarely gave advice, preferring to encourage others to find the right path. In a few words he would bring clarity to those who were sunk in confusion and fear. Harry truly spoke the language of the heart.
His accomplishments were many, but the time Harry spent with family camping, fishing and hunting were the most important. He treasured his time with his granddaughters, playing board games and hanging out at the beach on Lake Superior.
He is preceded in death by his mother and father, brother Paul, sister, Hilarion, daughter Leslie and first wife, Judith.
Surviving Harry are his wife, Mary Jane Griffin; daughter Stephanie (Josh) Whitney and granddaughters Brooke and Erika Whitney; son Bryan; brother Michael (Lois); sisters Agnes Wetmore; and Margaret (Harry) Blumenthal; and a host of friends and mended families, who will forever be grateful for this good man’s life.
Services on May 11, at 11 a.m., at St. John’s Church, Grand Marais. Interment at a later date at Maple Hill Cemetery, Grand Marais.
Memorials requested to St. John’s Catholic Church, First Congregational United Church of Christ or the Cook County Food Shelf.
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