In loving memory of John Thomas Swan
December 27, 1943 – September 18, 2026
John Thomas Swan, Air Force Vietnam veteran, career prosecutor, husband, father, and grandfather, died peacefully at home in Carlsbad, surrounded by his family, on September 18, 2026.
The cause of death was cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer).
John was predeceased by his parents, Earnest and Velva Swan, and his brother, educator Larry Swan, all of Napa.
John was born in Petaluma on December 27, 1943.
His family lived in government housing in Vallejo.
John’s maternal grandmother helped his parents buy their first home in downtown Napa.
John had a charmed childhood in Napa, growing up with his brother Larry, and many lifelong close friends, including Jim and Sandy Waggoner.
He attended Napa Methodist Church.
John first learned to ski in Soda Springs, near Lake Tahoe in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.
He and his dad watched ski racing in the 1960 Winter Olympics at Tahoe.
John was junior class president at Napa High School, graduating in 1961.
John received congressional appointments to the United States Naval Academy and to the United States Air Force Academy.
He chose the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
He was only 17½ years old when he entered the Academy and began basic training.
During that difficult first summer, he wrote to his father that he wished he were home in Napa, sipping iced tea with his friends.
His father encouraged him to stay, and he followed his father’s advice.
At the Academy, John competed in water polo, enjoyed a fascinating summer trip to Latin America, and made many lifelong friends, especially in his squadron.
John graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1965.
He attended pilot training in Enid, Oklahoma, and was suddenly assigned to train to be a navigator co-pilot on F-4 Phantom II fighter jets in the Vietnam War.
John was stationed at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base for approximately eight months in 1967-68.
He flew 130 missions. He was under enemy fire.
Like many of his Academy classmates and others of his generation, he risked his life, over and over, to serve his country.
Despite his heroics, after he left the Air Force, he was modest about his service, both because of his humble character and because he knew that he was more fortunate than those who served on the ground in Vietnam.
Among them was his first cousin, Kenneth Escott, who died in service in Vietnam.
When John returned to the United States after his combat service, he landed at Travis Air Force Base, only 25 miles from Napa.
He was so happy to be home that he wanted to kiss the ground.
John’s next assignment was flying C-141s, based at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino.
He earned the rank of captain and became an aircraft commander responsible for the entire crew on flights to Southeast Asia.
In 1969, at the Officers Club at Norton, he met Catherine Clark, of Downey.
John separated from the Air Force in 1970.
The following year, he started law school at University of California Law San Francisco, formerly UC Hastings, in downtown San Francisco. I
n the winter of 1973, he and Catherine married at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside.
After passing the bar, John worked at the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
When he and Catherine were expecting their first child, John was eager to return to his hometown.
They settled in the Browns Valley neighborhood, and John worked as a Napa County Deputy District Attorney for almost 10 years.
His daughter Susan was born in 1976, daughter Karen in 1978, and son John Thomas Jr. in 1985.
In 1985, John became a Deputy Attorney General for the state of California, handling criminal writs, appeals, and occasional trials, at the downtown San Diego office.
The family moved to south Carlsbad, near Catherine’s family. John enjoyed exercising outside year-round to prepare for the ski season each year.
He also enjoyed living close to the ocean, and meeting his kids to bodyboard at Moonlight, Grandview, and Ponto beaches after work in the summers.
He met many friends through the Church and Society Committee at San Dieguito United Methodist Church.
Catherine had taught John to tent camp, and with their kids, family, and friends, they spent summers at Sugar Pine Point State Park, Grover Hot Springs, and June Lake in the Sierras, at other California state parks, and at almost every national park in the West.
When they weren’t on a camping trip, they were at the beach or a museum.
Although he kept the values his parents learned growing up on modest farms in western Missouri, John was a Californian, and a Westerner, through and through.
John retired from the AG’s office in 2004, but stayed close to many of his co-workers, who had become friends, especially in his AG’s office book group.
He spent his retirement learning Spanish and Italian, visiting his granddaughter Natalia in Northern California as often as possible, and volunteering with his church, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the San Diego Horticultural Society.
John also enjoyed watching World Cup skiing, reading – joining every local library he could – and attending live jazz and folk concerts with Catherine.
Additionally, John relished having more time in retirement to visit with his friends from Napa, the Air Force, and law school.
When Catherine was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, John was a devoted caretaker.
After Catherine recovered, he took her to Paris, and to Austria for a family wedding.
John returned often to Tahoe to ski.
He skied up until weeks before his cancer diagnosis in 2021.
Even after his diagnosis, John spent every Wednesday afternoon with his granddaughter Catherine when she was 4 years old, and frequently babysat Catherine and her sister Jemma.
John is survived by his wife Catherine; daughter Susan (Ryan Schneider) of San Diego; daughter Karen (Carson Jeffres) of Woodland; son John of Carlsbad; step-grandson Connor Schneider; and granddaughters Natalia Jeffres and Catherine and Jemma Schneider. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Bettie Swan and niece Pamela Swan (Hally) of Healdsburg, and his nephew Matthew Swan (Elizabeth) of Galena, Ohio, and their families. Finally, John is survived by his Swan and Swarens cousins and their descendants, and by his many in-laws, whom he especially enjoyed seeing each year at their annual beach party.
John’s memorial service was held Saturday, November 7, 2026, at San Dieguito United Methodist Church in Encinitas.
For those who wish to make a memorial donation, the family suggests San Dieguito United Methodist Church, Napa Methodist Church, the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, or any organization benefiting veterans.
