Rhonda Swan

Rhonda Swan was an author, life coach, editorial writer, reporter, columnist, poet, and loving mother and grandmother. Born to Fred Allen and DeLois Swan on March 15, 1964 in Waterbury, Connecticut; she attended Rutgers University in her freshman year, and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Notwithstanding her professional obligations her highest priority was her children, Seneca, Stephon, and Amira; her siblings and her family, and extended family.

Perhaps Rhonda Renee Swan professional career may be characterized by Comments from friends and former colleagues at the newspapers in which her work appeared: Palm Beach Post, where Swan worked as an editorial writer, editorial Page editor Rick Christie: “She was a strong woman. I have three daughters. She’s the kind of woman I want my daughters to look up to,” She was a determined, independent woman with a brilliant smile, who chose her own path in life and toward death. Tim Burke, publisher of the Palm Beach Post, said, “Rhonda was a beautiful writer and highly respected journalist, but her courage was her greatest gift.” “She was a powerful writer, a strong reporter and had an unflinching voice that deserved to be heard,” said Sun Sentinel Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara. “I was proud to work with her. And I’m heartbroken that we’ve all lost her.”

Ron Chemelis of the Republican newspaper in Springfield MA stated: “Aware of her cancer since 2012, she wrote in October that ‘I refuse to torture myself with coulda’s woulda shouldas’.” Rather, she used the time to keep on swinging, right up until the end, not as a cause crusader but to patiently explain why she felt so strongly about what mattered most and why others, in their dizzying effort to make sense of the news in a changing world, might do well to consider it, too.

That’s a writer. Rhonda didn’t browbeat us with her opinions; her goal was to make us stop and think, and she succeeded, perhaps more than even she might have realized. Those in the business of provoking thought, as opposed to simply provoking, have lost one of the better soldiers in the battle.

Despite her illness, Rhonda Swan gained certification as a life coach. “I help breast cancer survivors find a new normal for their lives,” she wrote. “I also help women change the limiting beliefs that prevent them from pursuing their dreams and having the healthy relationships they deserve. “Her book, ’Dancing to the Rhythm of My Soul: A Sister’s Guide for Transforming Madness into Gladness,’ was a memoir based on Swan’s spiritual journey that also served as a self-help guide. Swan wrote two novels, “I Saw Your Profile” and “Exposed: The Consequences of Truth.” She also published a volume of poetry, “Speaking My Mind…in Poetic Verse.”