IF I DIDN’T WAKE UP IN THE MORNING
If I didn’t wake up in the morning
If my morning never came
I would miss your touch… Oh, SO VERY MUCH
I would miss hearing you call my name.
If I didn’t wake up in the morning
If my world would come to an end
It’s OK to cry… I’ll tell you why
‘Cause tears would help your heart mend.
If I didn’t wake up in the morning
Hold the memories we have made.
Hold the good, drop the bad… love the good times we’ve had
Just don’t let the memories fade.
If I didn’t wake up in the morning
If today was to be my last breath
Love those who are here… keep them all near
Because LOVE is much stronger than death.
Now I lay me down to sleep
I know the Lord my soul will keep
I’ve lived a life full of love
I’m reaping my reward above.
Ron Swisher
June 19, 2005
Written in ‘good’ health, but at peace and in love with life and Karen Sue
I am at a loss for words, I just heard from Pat Semrau and we were hoping Ron would pull through once again and then I received this message. I know Ron is with his Lord and Savior and has been made perfect in body because that is God’s promise and Ron’s entire life is an example of all things honest, always giving, caring for family and friends, his great courage and his deep faith. We have way too many wonderful memories to even begin to list them here, but please know that he and your family have been in our prayers every day. God answers prayer and His will be done. Heaven is a little better for having Ron there and we will miss him. We will honor his wishes and treasure our copies of all his poems and writings. Sent with love and admiration, Milly & George Kropp P.S. One of my favorite memories was his election to the Presidency in Boston, all the confetti and cheering! He was loved!
Ron, Frank and I will never forget the time we spent with you in Hawaii. We enjoyed so much your poetry and happy stories. You will surely be missed.
A Loving Tribute to Ron
If Tears Could Build A Stairway
And Memories a Lane,
I’d Walk Right Up To Heaven
And Bring You Home Again.
Love, Allison & Frank
Rich & I are sending our love and prayers to Ron’s family. I just left my mother’s funeral last week, and I know that these times are difficult. I so remember Ron when I was just starting out as a new Postmaster. It was Ron’s enthusiasm which was absolutely contagious! What fun the League Family has had because of Ron and Karen! I am anxious to gather once again with his League Family in San Diego where we can reminisce and tell great stories about Ron. Rest in Peace, Ron. You are the most deserving person of eternal happiness!
My condolences and deepest sympathy to Ron’s family and friends. I was hired by Ron about six months after he became Postmaster of Mesa, AZ. For me , and my contemporaries, Ron was the gold standard for Postal management. He was the kind of guy who knew all his employees, treated everyone fairly and was never afraid to fight for his people when the higher up the ladder types came down with a bad idea. As a Union rep, I got to deal with Ron a lot more than most, and early on we established a non conventional and good natured rapport. Once, when a custodian busted a water pipe and flooded his office, I sent him a memo on his lack of ability to part the waters. He replied with his own memo about it being an exercise to practice walking on water, and that it was quite successful. What made that kind of exchange possible was an honesty of spirit, and an iron clad determination to keep his word. In the opinion of many, no Postmaster has ever come close to that standard since. Sadly, no one stays forever, or lives forever. What you can do is leave people with great memories and an abiding respect for how you conducted yourself and all the positives that you leave behind. Again, Ron Swisher was and is the benchmark
This is Gary, one of Ron’s many kids, we had a nice gathering of my little brother Rich and his family along with my family tonight to celebrate my Dad’s life and lessons that he taught each of us. My big Brother Bob who is stationed down in Honduras also joined us via telephone. It was a fun night of stories and memories, and this website provided some great fun as well, the photos of Dad were very fun to see, most posted I have not really seen before, or if I have, it has been a long time. We sat around the table and shared our thoughts and memories, and then we went to a room where we could all see the computer screen and see the images and stories posted here, it was great, I love so many of the stories, and actually remember some of the events that were being talked about, like Bruce sharing his memo back and forth about the flooded office, I remember my Dad telling that story, and it reminded me of my favorite lesson that my father taught me. Always be sure to laugh “with” others, and laugh “at” yourself. Humility and Humor go hand in hand. I learned a great deal of what I am today from little lessons that my father taught, not through hard strained teaching, but through my observations of him, and how he treated people.
Please be sure to post your memories and photos, they are a blessing to me and my family.
Thank you all for your contributions. and thank you Celeste for putting this site together!
Gary
I REMEMBER RONNIE–
TAKING ME TO MY FIRST [OF MANY] LEAGUE CONVENTIONS
COFFEE SESSIONS AT COCO’S
BORROWING JACKIE STRANG’S CADALLIC TO SHOW KAREN WASHINGTON DC SIGHTS
THE FAMOUS BOSTON CONVENTION WHERE RONNIE BECAME LEAGUE PRESIDENT
LEADERSHIP,ADVICE,COUNSEL, SOMETIMES WITHOUT EVEN BEING ASKED
TRAVELING AND ROOMING WITH A POET
SO MANY ADVENTURES, PLACES,PEOPLE,AND ALWAYS A SMILE AND GOOD WORD
I REMEMBER MY FRIEND RONNIE AS A PROUD FATHER, A LOVING CARING HUSBAND, A KIND AND CARING MAN, BUT MOST OF ALL I REMEMBER RONNIE AS MY FRIEND,TRULY ” A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS”–REST IN PEACE MY FRIEND
Here’s one of Ron’s poems I liked best.
EVIDENCE OF GOD
By Ron Swisher
January 5, 2002
I recognize your voice God, in the music that I hear.
I feel y our presence with me as it dances on my ear.
I see you in the playground as I watch the children play.
Then I know that you are with me as I go throughout each day.
I feel your love around me when a loved one holds me tight
And I’m reminded you are with me when I can’t sleep at night.
I smell you God, as I walk through fields of flowers
And I thank you for the many ways you’ve blessed this land of ours.
My palate senses you are near, as I taste blessings from the Earth.
And I’m reminded of the good things I have tasted since my birth.
The awesome sight of sunset as the day is winding down,
Shining on the mountain top dressed in its snow white crown
Leaves no doubt in my mind of your power and your love
As you watch over us from your throne up above.
I feel sorry for my brothers and my sisters who don’t believe,
But pay homage to their lesser gods and those who will deceive.
I see you God in each flake of snow and every drop of rain,
As you replenish your green earth again, again and again.
You’re in the trees, God that hold the birds of the air.
You’re in the streams that flow through the valleys fair.
I see you God in the lightning bolt that stabs the dark of night.
I hear you in the thunder and know your awesome might.
The evidence that you exist surrounds me and fills my soul.
You’re here, you’re there, You’re everywhere. You’re presence makes me whole.
From Rich Swisher, another one of Ron’s many children.
I’d like to second Gary’s comments and thanks to all of you who have shared your memories of my father, and especially to Celeste for the brilliant idea, and execution, of this beautiful web-tribute site for all of us to share.
I am sure I will spend the rest of my life sorting through the lessons my father made available to me through his words, his actions and his example. Many people in my father’s life were exposed to his lessons, but few have the depth and breadth of his lessons like his immediate family. My father’s wisdom came from his analysis of observations, readings, and experiences. He developed his opinions, philosophies, mantras, mottos and maxims from both his successes and from his failures. I learned from my father in the very same way.
The lesson my father taught me that I want to share on this board, may be one that many will not recognize. I know that I didn’t really see it until very late in his life. With my oldest son Jake becoming an adult, and pushing me into a new chapter of fatherhood, it clarified an aspect of my father that I had not been able to see or realize until recently.
Ron’s kids were never the kids on the playground that told other kids, “oh ya, well my dad will beat up your dad.” My dad was older than theirs for the most part, he was an office worker, not an athlete, and he was crippled. To a young boy, his self-image is formed, at least in part, by what he perceives as his father’s position and station in life. When it came time to be tough, I relied on the image I had of my older brothers, not my father. My father was the thinker, the poet, the teacher and the lecturer. My brothers were the tough guys that taught me the lessons of standing up for myself, putting bullies in their place, and establishing myself as someone not easily trifled with. I hardly remember my father commenting on anything related to any of the above. It seemed to be a series of lessons that my father purposely kept from me, and I assumed that it was probably a deliberate effort to create a natural avoidance of trouble or confrontation in me. I was wrong. My father was my primary teacher in this series, and my brothers were simply props on the classroom wall. My father was not only tough in his endurance of pain, and in his triumphs over obstacles but also as tough in every sense as any soldier, ghetto cop, or professional athlete I have ever known.
My father taught me by subtle example that there is no man on the planet worthy of being feared, regardless of his apparent advantage over you, whether it’s in stature, status, credential or pedigree. He taught me that those who talk tough, who intimidate others, who posture and bark are simply revealing the fact that they are weak and fearful. He taught me that the core of all real strength is love, and that this principal applies to every type of fight there is. He taught me to never look for a fight, and to never be in a fight in support of something unrighteous. He taught me that when I get into a fight for the right reasons, to never consider quitting or even flinching. He taught me to not focus on or anticipate any desired outcome, but to see the fight through with vigor and accept the results as a victory that God has delivered.
When I was young I saw this as applicable in some circumstances, but not the type that I was concerned about facing. As a 40 year old who has had too much experience in nearly every type of fight one can have, I see now that it is applicable across the board. My father never feared going into a bad neighborhood, never feared confronting a dangerous thug (and I watched him do it), attacking corruption, having a strong “come-to-Jesus” with a wrong doer, or calling out an official in a powerful position for betraying the trust that his subordinates had in him. My father was truly fearless. I haven’t ever seen much fear in my brothers, and I feel that I have fended off fear fairly well, but I have never known a man who truly lived fearlessness to the extent my father did.
Over the past two years, this has been a difficult thing to know about my father. I almost feel thankful that I do not have the level of fearlessness that he had. He endured terrible physical pain over such a prolonged period of time. He endured what he knew to be a lost cause at rehabilitation. He endured what he felt was the loss of his dignity, in the way he could not care for his own needs. It was like watching a fighter from ringside, who had already lost the chance at having his hand raised in that ring. This fighter was not anticipating a certain or desired outcome. He was faced with a fight, and he bravely and confidently refused to quit, flinch, or allow the towel to be thrown in before the One who managed his fights was ready for it to be over. I am thankful to have been blessed with a master’s lesson in strength and toughness. I am blessed to have watched so many of my father’s fights, and that I could finally realize the lesson that I was being taught for the past 41 years.
My father’s race is over now
He’s crossed the line to victory.
His race was filled with obstacles
Unimaginable for you and me.
The legacy he leaves behind
Isn’t blinding speed or most laps led.
It’s indomitable strength that few men know
It’s leaving the word quit, on trackside, dead.
During my race I’ve hit some walls
Spun back around and charged the field
Because of the lessons Dad gave to me
My strength and spirit, simply cannot yield.
My name is Becky Knope and I am Joanne Yager’s daughter. I am sitting here with Patti (Swisher) Carrizales and my mother. My mother has found some Swisher family pictures in an old trunk from her mother. She will be mailing these pics directly to Rich as per previous arrangements. In the meantime, please let us know if there will be a “Celebration of Life” memorial for the extended family? Or possibly a family reunion? Please let us know your thoughts…..
This website is so very meaningful and we are deeply touched. This has touched our hearts and allowed us to grieve with all of you.
Thank you.
I remember Coco’s never ending pots of coffee. YUM! How we ever fell asleep is beyond me. From the time I first met Karen & Ron I knew he was someone special. We shared so much together. First as coffee partners, then the trip to Hawaii while I was 5 months pregnant, followed by him and Karen becoming godparents to my first son. All of the “I Love Lucy” type moments that we shared as friends will never be forgotten. Ron I love you and Karen with all of my heart. I will miss you and I will stay in touch with Karen as friends do. May you rest in peace my friend. XXXOO