Wesley "Wes" M. Swarthout

Wesley “Wes” Mitchell Swarthout, 88, of Climax passed away December 1, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. Wesley was born on December 10, 1933, to the late Charles and Wilma (Crippen) Swarthout. He graduated from Climax-Scotts High School in 1950 and then went on to spend 4 years in the United States Air Force. On February 13, 1955, Wesley married Sandra Joan Fenwick. Wes and Sandra were lucky enough to have 67 loving years together. They were a beautiful team and built a wonderful life on their farm. Wes was a lifelong farmer and loved everything about farming. Feeding beef cattle and everything that went along with it. It was one of his greatest joys.

He was a member of the Newcomers Farm Bureau group for many years. He belonged to Rotary, the Cattleman’s Association and was on the Climax-Scotts School Board for 8 years. He also enjoyed playing golf, playing cards (especially cribbage), bowling, watching the Detroit Tigers (no matter how well they were doing), going to Station 66 for lunch, dinners, and ice cream. He spent many hours puttering around in his shop and doing woodworking. When he no longer was actively farming, he was famous for driving his truck around the area to see what all the other farmers were up to. He would check out the farmers’ planting, harvesting, the big milking operations, it didn’t matter, he loved it all. One of his passions was keeping all the lawns mowed up nice on the farms. Wes loved to travel and had a lot of fun following Cherie during the time she played basketball for MSU. Most of all, he loved being with family. He loved his family unconditionally and his family loved him.

Wes is survived by his loving wife, Sandra J. Swarthout; children, James (Sally) Swarthout, Callie (Mike) Moreland, and Cherie Swarthout; grandchildren, Heather (Conor) McHale, Melissa Moreland, Dustin (Angie) Swarthout, Andy (Hailey) Swarthout, Mattison Swarthout-Yopp, Zuri Swarthout-Yopp; great-grandchildren, Mary McHale, Wesley McHale, Anna Swarthout, Colton Swarthout, Heidi Swarthout, Ellie-Mae Swarthout and Lyla Swarthout; sister, Beverlee Jenkins, as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Arnold Swarthout; and sister, Marilyn Page.

A Memorial Service will be held Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at 11:00 am at Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services 205 E. Maple St. Climax, MI 49034. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or a charity of your choice, in memory of Wes. To leave an online condolence, please visit https://www.langelands.com