Jean Perrin Swenson

Jean Perrin Swenson

Age 73 of St. Paul

The multi-faceted love of Christ has shone brightly through the life of Jean Perrin Swenson. Born on Sunday, May 4th, 1952, to Sidney and Gloria Swenson, Jean was the second of four children. She attended Highland Park Senior High School and graduated in 1970. After high school, Jean attended the University of Minnesota, where she came to know Jesus Christ as her personal savior while obtaining a teaching degree. Jean's relationship with Jesus has been the defining aspect of her life ever since.

Once graduated from college, Jean spent a short time teaching elementary school before accepting a full-time position with Midwest Challenge. (Now known as Teen Challenge.) While serving in this capacity, she was involved in a collision with a semi-truck. This accident forever changed her life as it left her a quadriplegic. Struggling in her heart to face this new reality, Jean could not have imagined, during her year-long rehab journey, how God would use her broken body to open opportunities to shine with His love, grace, patience, wisdom, and truth.

During her rehabilitation through the efforts of the University of MN, Craig Hospital in CO, and the Courage Center (MN), Jean learned how to live independently with 24-hour attendant support and moved into a house in Edina. She eventually returned to her childhood home to live with her parents in Highland Park. While living with her parents, Jean returned to school and earned a master's degree in psychology and counseling from Bethel College.

In every way possible, Jean sought to share the love of God and help people come to know Jesus. She was regularly involved in International Student Outreach, serving at their activities and regularly inviting international students to her home for meals and short stays. She was active at Grace Church, leading Bible Studies and attending their international students ministry. At Bethel Christian Fellowship, she served as the Evangelism coordinator. Most recently, Jean attended Cities Church, where she joined a small group that focused on international student outreach while she regularly prayed for the good news of Jesus to ring forth from the church's overall ministry.

Jean poured herself out, sharing directly about Jesus and as a strong voice in advocating for Biblical perspectives on social matters - especially in the value of every human life. She was very active in the Spinal Cord Society, regularly campaigning for ethical stem cell treatment for spinal cord injuries. Testifying in person on multiple occasions before the MN state legislature and in recorded testimony on a Federal level. She even had the opportunity to personally hand information regarding ethical stem cell treatment to President George W. Bush. Jean was chosen in 1995, as a recipient of T.V. station Kare 11's, "11 Who Care" award for her work with the Spinal Cord Society.

A gifted writer, Jean was a guest columnist at the Pioneer Press for one year, writing quarterly Opinion Page articles. In recent years, she used that gift to write out her testimony. Jean has given out more than two thousand copies of her testimony booklets. She has made an intentional effort to give one to every healthcare worker, every delivery driver, and every shop clerk with whom she has crossed paths. Jean desired that everyone would know what she had found to be the most important truth of life: That Jesus loves them, and He has made salvation and hope possible for everyone, no matter who they are, where they have come from, or what they are going through.

Over the years, more than 200 young women have served as Jean's Personal Care Attendants. When they initially applied for the job, they thought they would be simply serving her. What they found out, however, was that while they were serving her physical needs, she was ministering to their heart and soul. For so many of her PCAs, she served them as counselor, mentor, Bible teacher, prayer partner, cheerleader, and friend.

Jean recognized her disability as a means to exemplify God's strength in her weakness.

She honored and served Him by using the gifts He gave her to serve others.

2 Corinthians 4:7,16-18

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us... So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Jean is preceded in death by her parents, Sidney and Gloria Swenson of St. Paul.

She is survived by her siblings, Jeff, Tom (Ann), Joan (Pat) Flanders; nieces and nephews, Dan (Katy), Laura (Brett) Peterson, John Flanders, Matt (Hannah) Flanders, and Jenna Flanders; five grand nieces and nephews.

Visitation 4-7pm Tuesday, May 13th at Bradshaw Celebration of Life Center, 2800 Curve Crest Blvd., Stillwater. Celebration of Life 11am Wednesday, May 14th at Bethel Christian Fellowship, 1466 Portland Ave., St. Paul, with visitation at 10am. Interment at Acacia Park Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Joni and Friends: https://bit.ly/4iVNjSl or Spinal Cord Society: https://www.scsus.org/donate.html .

The Celebration of Life service will be livestreamed from Bethel Christian Fellowship on Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 starting at 11:00 AM. Please go to  https://www.betheltwincities.org/livestream-our-services .