Dr. Russell Eugene Swann, MD
May 13, 1947 — June 7, 2026
“He came to Waco not because it was convenient — but because it needed him.”
Remembering a Life of Service
Dr. Russell E. Swann, MD devoted nearly half a century to restoring sight and dignity to the people of Central Texas. He arrived in Waco in 1979 with a pioneer's conviction that this community deserved the same world-class ophthalmology patients in Dallas or Houston took for granted — and he spent the rest of his life proving that promise true.
Among his most enduring contributions was the first recorded cataract removal and intraocular lens replacement in Central Texas — a milestone that brought advanced surgical eye care home to Waco and changed what was possible for generations of patients who had been told they would have to travel to receive it.
He was a Tulane University alumnus, a U.S. Army Medical Corps flight surgeon, a Baylor Bears fan through and through, and a husband, father, and grandfather who loved this community not as a place to practice medicine, but as home.
“Be like a Swann, always stay calm, cool and collected on the surface but paddle like hell underneath.”
— Russell Swann
His Legacy Lives On
After a stroke in January of 2021, Dr. Swann was unable to continue the work he loved. His sons — Dr. Forrest Beau Swann and Brad Swann — answered the call to carry Brazos Eye Surgery of Texas forward: preserving the trust he built, honoring the patients who had depended on him for decades, and expanding the specialty care Central Texas had long been forced to seek elsewhere.
Dr. Swann spent his career giving sight to Central Texas. The practice he founded continues that mission every day — under the same roof, for the same community, with the same standard of excellence he set from the very beginning.
Dr. Swann is survived by his wife, Renée (Presley) Swann; his four sons, Dr. Forrest Beau Swann, Brad Swann, Presley Swann, and Britt Swann; their families — daughters-in-law and grandchildren; and the countless patients and neighbors whose lives he touched across nearly five decades of service in Waco.
To read the full story of Dr. Swann's life, his family, and the practice he built, explore the chapters below.