Robert Gunnard Swanson

Robert G. Swanson passed away Sunday, August 29, 2021. Robert was born on November 16, 1935, in Greeley, Colorado, to Gunnar and Evelyn (Engstrom) Swanson. He graduated from Greeley High School in 1953 and later that year began his studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His participation in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program became a significant element of his four years at C.U. and, upon graduation, he was designated Distinguished AFROTC Graduate. As a result, he received a Second Lieutenant commission in the Regular Air Force and three months later he entered active duty, the beginning of a military career that spanned 28 years. Based on his academic background, the Air Force assigned him the specialty of Cartographic/Geodetic officer and he spent his entire 28-year career involved in managing Air Force mapping, charting and geodesy activities around the US and Europe. He retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1985 as Deputy Director of the Defense Mapping School at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. The time span of his career witnessed incredible changes in the technologies involved, from photographing the earth from aircraft to create maps to doing it from satellites and from the production and use of paper maps to digital maps, GPS, etc. He was always very proud to have been a part of this tremendous evolution. His initial active-duty assignment was at Torrejon Air Base in Madrid, Spain. Shortly after arriving there, he met a charming young senorita, Maria Portela, and two years later they were married in Madrid. They were blessed with three sons, Erik, Karl, and Kerry. Robert was preceded by his parents and his only sibling, sister Ann. His survivors include his wife of 61 years, Maria; sons, Erik (Shelley) and their daughters (Beatrix, Eleanor and Isabel) of Frankfurt, Germany, Karl (Amina) of Moscow, Russia, and Kerry (Karen) and their children (Kristopher and Kristina) of Wichita, KS. Private Family Services. Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.