Lonnie "Buck" Swearingen

Lonnie B. “Buck” Swearingen, 89, of Kewanee, died peacefully at 11:40 a.m., Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at his home.

He was born on March 14, 1937, the son of Woodrow and Virginia (McKenney) Swearingen. He married Merriam E. Piester on June 4, 1955, in Leonore, IL and she preceded him in death on July 31, 2012. Survivors include his three daughters; Rose (Jim) Peed of Kewanee, Robin (Bruce) Allen of Lexington, IN and Kay (Chuck) Desmond of Byron Center, MI, seven grandchildren; Jason (Becky) Peed, Timothy Peed and Eric (Jessica) Peed, all of Kewanee, Shelley (Derrick) Pfeifer of Verona, IL, Elisha (Eric) Foster of Byron Center, MI, Michael Desmond of Baltimore, MD and Elizabeth Allen of Kewanee, three sisters, Linda Pembroke, Carol (Glen) Lange and Mary (Denny) Cantwell, twenty great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his parents, two brothers; Sherman and Jack Swearingen, sisters; Ruth Ann Swearingen, Sandra Heiman and Doris Roach, a son, Robert Swearingen, great-grandson, Kayd Peed, sister-in-law, Carol Swearingen and brothers-in-law, Bill Heiman and Dennis Roach.

Lonnie graduated from Neponset High School and served his country in the U.S. Army. While in the U.S. Army he was stationed in France and obtained the rank of Specialist Third Class. He worked as a truck driver for McLean Trucking and Yellow Trucking and had logged over two million miles in his career.  He had also worked for River Valley Cooperative in Kewanee. He enjoyed feeding and watching birds and mowing and maintaining his property.

His passion was providing as much love and support to his family and friends as possible. He was much more than a husband, father and brother to all who knew and loved him. Throughout his life, he was dedicated to giving whatever extra help anyone needed. He was an avid Cubs and Bears fan. His Sunday afternoon gathering with friends and family in his man cave were always the high-lite of his week.

From a young boy, he loved hunting and fishing, and he passed this passion onto his children and grandchildren. For many years, he hosted the yearly family reunions and instilled the importance of the joy of keeping the extended family bonded. After retirement, you could always count on him sitting at the edge of the garage every day, enjoying nature, sipping his Busch Lite and waving at you as you passed by.

Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 26 at Rux Funeral Home in Kewanee with Pastor John Reside officiating. A visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the services at the funeral home. The burial will be in Evergreen Memorial Gardens in rural Kewanee where military rites will be accorded by the Kewanee Veterans Council. Memorials may be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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