John Swindells

John Edward Swindells, age 86, Bardstown, KY died Sunday May 19, 2024 at the University of Louisville Hospital. He retired at the rank of colonel after a thirty-year active duty career in the US Army. He served two tours in Vietnam and several in Germany, as well as in the Defense Intelligence Agency. John lived with his wife, Jean, and a houseful of dogs and wild animals in a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse in Bardstown, Kentucky. He had a bachelor of arts in zoology from the University of Texas, a masters in anthropology from the American University and masters in science education from George Washington University. Later in life he became an author of meticulously researched historical fiction. 

He is survived by his wife, Jean (Burgess) Swindells; his sisters, Janis Fuchs, Pam Coffield, and Phyllis Stroup Hahn; his children, Charles (Julie) Swindells, Jennifer McConnell, Leslie Swindells, and David (Laura) Swindells; his step-children, Monika Burgess, Stephanie (Darrell) Hunt, and Tracy Burgess; his grandchildren, Kelsie, Ryan, Kaylin, and Luke; and his step-grandchildren Ashley, and Hannah. Please send memorial contributions to Nelson County Humane Society.  

“End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings.

Cremation has been chosen with a memorial service service at a later date.

Barlow Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

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