Jeffrey D. Swanberg

A New Year’s baby, Jeff was born on January 1, 1949, to Dale and Deloris Swanberg. He was a talkative and comical child with a flare for Go Kart racing, which he excelled in. He had a “racer’s spirit”  and was courageous, bordering on reckless. Jeff’s younger brother, Mark, whom he adored, followed in his footsteps.

Though small, Jeff was an excellent young athlete, participating in Little League and other clubs in the city. 

Eventually, his love of motorsports took over, and he became a certified gearhead—something he never lost. This love drove him to be Chief Crew with Robert Nelson and his brother, Mark Swanberg. For years, they raced for SCCA, with a pretty good record of wins throughout the Midwest. 

Jeff had the incredible good fortune of volunteering for Champ Car, where he met the likes of Mario Andretti, Paul Newman, and others. Jeff was assigned to the Newman team in Paul’s last race. The team won and Jeff was pictured in the winner’s circle on TV. 

Jeff owned and raced a vintage Porsche 911 for over twenty years. In his last year of life, he enjoyed a vintage red Corvette.

In 1972, he met Chris Rinaldi on the steps of the old Rockford Business College. It was truly love at first sight. They traveled across Canada and finally to San Francisco, where they got engaged. Jeff took over Chris’s job as a teacher, where he became a beloved mentor, administrator,  and teacher to many students for over 40 years, with many awards to his name. 
During their summers off, they were world adventurers traveling through most of Europe several times, Greece, Turkey, Jamaica, Kaiau, Maui, and all of Canada by rail.

They cherish their memories of Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Morocco, the Laurentide villages of Canada, Montreal, and Quebec. In their later years, they spent a great deal of time on the Oregon coast and in St. Augustine FL.

They traveled by train many times across Europe and Canada. They were explorers who found special places on their own. They spent a great deal of time in the Pacific Northwest and Oregon.

Jeff was a person of great integrity. If he said he would do something, he did it. He was compassionate and generous with local organizations such as Rockford Urban Ministries and recently Rockford Rescue Mission as well as many others. He took his religious ethics seriously and always tried to be kind.

Before joining Christ United Methodist Church, Jeff was active at Court Street Methodist, where he taught Sunday school and was involved in the Appalachian Service Project and Boundary Water Adventures. 

He was also a very accomplished musician, who once sang vocals for Berkley Medium band as well as a well-known accomplished photographer who participated in countless shows and galleries. He played a mean harmonica.

Jeff had several health issues that he fought all of his life and never talked about or felt sorry for himself. As you might expect of this car aficionado, he died of cardiac arrest in his garage. He suffered no pain and died peacefully with his wife at his side.

Jeff’s wild sense of humor knew no boundaries. He could mimic anything and often had students or friends in hysterics. His gentle presence and warmth will be missed by all who knew him. He was known for his wild impersonations as well as the characters he made up. He did have that special twinkle as you can see by the cards he picked out for his funeral.

Jeff was a supportive husband who followed his wife around the United States giving poetry readings, having residencies in Port Townsend Washington, and many poetry gigs in Door County, the West Coast, St. Augustine, and recently the Asheville area. He loved discovering new places to take photos on these trips.

Jeff is survived by his wife, Christine; his brother, Mark; his mother-in-law, Katherine Rinaldi; his uncle, Duane Swanberg; and many cousins and nieces.

Donations to Rockford Rescue Mission or Christ United Music Department.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, January 4th, 2025, at Christ United Methodist Church, 4509 Highcrest Rd, Rockford, IL 61107, at 11:00 AM. Burial will take place at Scandinavian Cemetery. Service by Senior Pastor Caleb Hong. A short visitation and light luncheon will immediately follow the service.

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