Doug Swaim, a familiar face among the auto dealers on Creekside Road, lost his 18-month battle with cancer this morning.

His wife, Darlene, said that he’d been in the hospital’s intensive care unit for 26 days and that initially, they had hoped to bring him home, “but that was not to be.”

An avid fisherman, Swaim used to venture out for some deep sea adventures with friends, traveling down to Mexican waters to catch tuna. He loved to golf and was a member of the Tournament Players Club in Valencia.

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Both Doug and Darlene served on the board of directors for the local chapter of the American Red Cross and supported many local charities, such as the SCV Boys and Girls Clubs and the Michael Hoefflin Foundation for Children’s Cancer. Darlene said that Doug also helped encourage car dealers to support local charities, from making donations to events and providing cars for the annual Fourth of July parade.

Doug worked in the car business for 30 years for Terry York, then for Auto Nation, which became the Power Group and was one of the first people who helped organize the car dealers on Creekside Road.

He is survived by his wife, two children and three grandchildren, who all live in Santa Clarita. Funeral arrangements at Eternal Valley Memorial Park, are pending.