Richard A Swank

Richard Swank, age 53 of Auburn died unexpectedly on Friday March 11, 2022.

Rick was the beloved husband and best friend of Karen C Swank and father of Kayla of Fall River and Aaron "B" and Jeremy of Auburn.  He is also survived by his four grandchildren, Skylar, Calleigh, Brayden, and Kaesyn, his father Ronnie D Swank Sr. and his wife Debbie of Northborough, his brother Ronnie D Swank Jr. and his wife Jennifer of Northborough, half siblings Randy Swank of Franklin and Katie Mattei of Northborough, stepbrother Derrick Schleyer of Denver CO, stepsister Beth Paine of Northborough, and his uncle Donald Pellerin.  Rick will also be dearly missed by his brothers and sister in laws Paul and Kim Johnson, Kenny Kehoe, and Kerry and Michael Moschella, his nieces, nephews, family and friends.  His mother Sandra Pellerin Swank pre-deceased him.

Born and raised in Worcester, Rick settled in Auburn with Karen in 1998 to raise their family.  Rick worked as a Correction Officer for the Department of Correction and retired after 20 years of service.  Too young to truly retire, Rick used his post retirement years to spend more time with his young children being a stay-at-home Dad, working part time for the Auburn school food service department and volunteering to help with numerous school activities including doing the heavy lifting when the annual school art show needed to be set up.  He loved helping people and later worked part time driving for the Auburn Senior Center and involved himself in volunteer activities with Boy Scout Pack and Troop 121 and other community organizations.

Besides his family, Rick's other passions were his love of music, his guitars, many of which he built himself, and his beloved Tacoma, fondly known as the "pavement princess".  An active member of the Tacoma World forums, he was a role model of paying it forward, sending other members small gifts, and has been described as someone whose kind heartedness shown so brightly you could tell even through your screen how good a person he was.  His knowledge and assistance will be greatly missed by his fellow taco peeps.

A period of calling hours will be held Friday, March 18th from 4 PM to 6 PM followed by a prayer service at 6 PM in the MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 Plantation St.  In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/donate.  If you’re in pain call 1- 800-273-8255, “you’re not alone”