Joel Andrew Swaggert, born August 18, 1960, died peacefully at his home in Hopkins on Tuesday June 23rd after a long struggle with heart disease.

He grew up in Wayzata and graduated from Wayzata High School in 1978.

He attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and later earned his nursing degree from Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

He met his wife Linda at Methodist Hospital in St Louis Park and they were married in 1990 and were together until Linda’s death in December 2019.

His Nursing career was extensive and varied. He loved his work and his patients adored him. As an RN his career included working in Transplant Care as a Donation Coordinator, in Home Hospice and Home Care, in Pulmonary Care as a Nurse clinician, in Endoscopy/Biliary care and procedures, and as an ICU nurse.

Joel is survived by siblings Craig, his wife Tanna, Carl, his wife Beth, Kit, Jill Frederickson, Matthew, his wife Suzann, his good friend Jack Young, and 19 nieces and nephews. He was also a loving Gruncle to his great nieces and nephews.

Joel and other family members had a cabin on Ross Lake and he loved boating, swimming, and year-round fishing, and hunting. And he was crazy about driving his Ranger!

In his earlier years, he loved to cook, and in his later years, loved other people cooking for him. He had a large personality and an even larger sense of humor and was a merciless teaser of his friends and family. Life will be much too quiet without him.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date yet to be determined.

Donations in Joel’s memory may be made to:

The Humane Society

Hospice

The Retreat in Wayzata