Malcolm Hill Swain

NORRIDGEWOCK – Malcolm Hill Swain, 87, passed away Nov. 14, 2025, at home on what would have been his wife’s 83rd birthday, whom he lost in April of this year.

Malcolm was born, Jan. 20, 1938, in Portland, to Malcolm E. Swain and Arvilla (Hamilton) Swain. He grew up in Skowhegan and married his soul mate, Irma (Moody) Swain, in 1961. They shared 64 years together, raising six children and watching their family grow.

At the beginning of their marriage, Malcolm was drafted into the U.S. Army, where they were stationed in El Paso, Texas, for about thirteen months before returning home to Maine.

Upon his return to Maine, Malcolm worked in the woods to provide for his family and worked for the Town of Norridgewock plowing snow when it got too deep to cut wood. He built several of the homes that the family lived in over the years. He was an avid hunter and fisherman when he was physically able and always had some stories to tell. He was a wealth of knowledge to all of us, from teaching us how to bait a hook, drive a truck, the importance of raising a garden and so many other things to help us along the way. He did a lot of woodworking projects over the years for each of us. He spent a lot of time playing cribbage with Kelly, often accusing her of cheating. He had a devilish sense of humor, sometimes maybe not so appropriate, but he could always see the humor in most everything. A recent conversation that we had was how proud he was of all his kids and their families and how lucky he and mom had been to have such a caring and loving family.

He is survived by his daughters, Mary (Mike) Merrill and Carol (Duane) Steward, both from Skowhegan, Deanna (Fig) Newton of Concord TWP, Kelly Cheney of Dresden, Tami (Andrew) Chase of Kingfield and Marc (Jennifer) Swain Sr. of Norridgewock. Over the years, the family grew by 13 grandchildren plus spouses, 25 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. He is also survived by Irma’s sisters, Joyce Watson, Orrinetta Spooner, Arline (Hector) Berube, brother-in-law Donald Nickerson and several nieces, nephews and cousins, Linda Connolly and Dorothy Turner.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Leon Swain and Eugene Swain and his wife Flavia, his wife Irma, grandsons Marc Alan Swain Jr. and Scott William Newton, and son-in-law, Michael Cheney.

There will be a celebration of life on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Somerset Valley Remembrance Center located at 19 Washburn Lane, Skowhegan. A private burial will take place in the spring.

Please visit Malcolm’s memorial page at https://svremembrancecenter.com/obituaries/malcolm-swain where condolences, photos, and special memories may be shared.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to a charity of your choice is preferred.