David Lee Swearingen

David Lee Swearingen, 73, a native of Bath, died Wednesday, August 1, 2018 in Greenfield, Indiana.
He started his news career as a part-time photographer at the Bath Daily Times while a sophomore at Morse High School, was a journalist for four decades, most of it with The Associated Press. He was born at Portland on July 12, 1945, the son of Charles W. and Dorothy Parshley Swearingen.

Upon graduation from Morse in 1963 he became a full-time reporter-photographer at the Times, later moving to its sister paper, the weekly Brunswick Record. The two papers merged into the Times Record in 1967. In 1964 Swearingen became a district correspondent with the Portland Press Herald based in Bath, later handling similar assignments in Biddeford and Rockland before joining The Associated Press at Augusta in 1968. He began as a temporary newsman for the 1969 legislative session, was promoted to a permanent staff position four months later and then named AP capitol correspondent in September 1969.

While assigned to Augusta he streamlined the AP state news report to place a greater emphasis on enterprise reporting. He covered myriad major stories, including enactment of a state income tax and the reorganization of state government which centralized the various departments into a governor's cabinet.

Swearingen was promoted to regional chief of bureau in 1974 when AP operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont were reorganized under a new control bureau in Concord, New Hampshire. During the next four years, he covered several stories of national interest including a 1977 demonstration at the Seabrook nuclear power when 1, 414 men, women, and children were arrested. When those arrested asked to be released on personal recognizance, a judge denied the requests. The protesters refused to post bail. Most of them were taken to state armories, where they were held for up to 12 days while awaiting hearings before the jammed court system. Most of the cases were eventually heard at mass trials, or by individuals pleading not guilty by mailing a form to the court. Most of the demonstrators pleaded not guilty, were found guilty, then appealed their convictions to the Superior Court. The State spent an estimated $1 million handling the protest and keeping the arrested demonstrators in the makeshift armory jails. More than half (800), of the criminal charges were tossed out on appeal to Superior Court.

In April 1978 he was appointed chief of bureau for Indiana, based in Indianapolis, and was given instructions to reorganize the operation. Swearingen created a one-person bureau at Evansville to cover Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky. Major stories covered over the next few years included four runnings of the Indianapolis 500 and Indiana's first execution in more than two decades.

He became managing editor of The Standard Times of New Bedford in April 1982. Major stories covered during the 27-month assignment included the infamous Big Dan's gang rape case and a May 11, 1982 fire which destroyed most of the Flint district of Fall River including the historic Notre Dame de Lourdes Church.

In June 1984 he was appointed editor of his hometown paper, The Times Record. He instituted the use of daily color photography within the news sections and established a writing coach program for the reporting staff. He returned to AP in 1991 where he joined the technology staff during the introduction of digital photography at newspapers across the nation. His next assignment was to Ad Send which was established to facilitate the digital transmission of advertising from major advertisers to newspaper composing rooms across America. In 1998 he was briefly employed as a software consultant in New Jersey before returning to Maine.

In recent years he had been a customer service representative for Microsoft and was editor of the Coastal Journal until declining health forced him to retire in 2004. Over the years he was active in myriad civic and prosessional organizations. He was a past president of the Bath Lodge of Elks and Elmhurst ARC. He was a lifelong communicant of Grace Episcopal Church where he was a lay minister.


He is survived by three sons, Timothy C. Swearingen and his wife Rose of Mesa, Arizona, Jeffrey S. Swearingen of Indianapolis, Indiana and Greg D. Swearingen of Buckfield, Maine and; a daughter, B. Seamona Swearingen of Anderson, Indiana, two sisters, Gloria A. DeCapua of Bridgton, Maine and Joyce S. Kennedy of Eastchester, N.Y., a niece, Paige Kennedy, a nephew, Patrick Kennedy, three granddaughters, Lindsey, Angelique and Chelsea, one great grandson, Levi and several cousins.

Memorial contributions may be made to Coastal Humane Society, 190 Pleasant Street, Brunswick, Maine 04401 or A Paw in the Door, c/o Patty Sample Colwell, 16 Winter Street Bath, Maine 04530 or www.pawinthedoor.org.
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At his request, there will be no services. Arrangements are by Daigle Funeral Home, 819 High Street, Bath. Condolences may be made online at www.Daiglefuneralhome.com.