lieutenant death_date birth_date term_end death_place imagesize order term_start spouse image name caption predecessor birth_place party office governor successor religion article_title
t. john lesinski may 13 , 1994 -lrb- aged 68 -rrb- july 31 , 1925 january 1 , 1963 1961 manchester , michigan 210px 42nd 52nd january 1 , 1961 1959 alice nielsen john b. swainson.jpg john b. swainson swainson in 1961 g. mennen williams philip hart windsor , ontario democratic governor of michigan lieutenant governor of michigan g. mennen williams george w. romney t. john lesinski united church of christ john swainson

john swainson

john burley swainson -lrb- july 31 , 1925 -- may 13 , 1994 -rrb- was a politician and jurist from the us state of michigan , as well as the 42nd governor of michigan .
swainson was born in windsor , ontario , canada and moved to port huron , michigan at the age of two with his family .
his father , john a. c. swainson , of port huron was democratic presidential elector for michigan in 1964 and an alternate delegate to democratic national convention from michigan in 1972 .
he was captain of his high school football team and an eagle scout .
swainson served in the united states army during world war ii with the 95th infantry division and lost both legs by amputation following a land mine explosion november 15 , 1944 , near metz , alsace-lorraine .
he was awarded france 's `` croix de guerre '' , the presidential unit citation with two battle stars , and the purple heart , all before his twentieth birthday .
after months of convalescence and rehabilitation at the percy jones army hospital in battle creek , swainson learned to walk upright and unassisted .
swainson received a b.a. from olivet college , where he also met and married his wife , alice nielson .
she accompanied him to the university of north carolina at chapel hill , where he received a law degree in 1951 .
while there , he was elected student president of the law school .
