Carroll Duane Swenson

SWENSON, Carroll Duane, 85, of Richmond, passed away peacefully on June 22, 2014 with his son, Carroll, of Midlothian, by his side. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Terry Swenson, with whom he had shared nearly 58 years of marriage; his parents, Charles and Effegene Swenson; his brother, David Swenson, his sister, Chanda Rohman; and his brothers, Donald and James Werth. Carroll was born in Flint, Michigan in 1929. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps at Fort Holabird, Maryland and was stationed in Orleans and Metz, France. After an honorable discharge in 1954, he attended the University of Michigan, graduated summa cum laude in Russian Area Studies in 1956, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. In 1954 he playfully promised to his future wife, Terry, that if she married him, he'd take her to Paris. They married in Dearborn, Michigan in 1955 and the next year moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where Carroll completed his master's degree in Soviet Area Studies at Harvard University. True to his word, Carroll, Terry, and their young son, Eric, moved to Paris in 1958. Carroll served as case officer and operations and liaison officer in the 513th Military Intelligence Group. Fluent in Russian, German, and French, he was responsible for recruiting agents within the Soviet Bloc. Carroll's second son, Carroll, was born in France in 1961 and the family enjoyed many years of rich culture and extensive travel in Europe. In 1966, Carroll and family moved to Washington, D.C., where, as an Intelligence Operations Specialist in the office of the Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, he managed senior case officers operating under cover in Europe against targets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He coordinated agent operations with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and CIA, developed intelligence collection requirements and plans, and travelled to Europe to meet with sources he had personally recruited and handled. In 1969, Carroll moved his family to Frankfurt, Germany, where, as Senior Case Officer at the U.S. Army Field Activities Command, he ran extremely sensitive missions employing highly placed assets. Upon his return to Washington in 1973, he produced finished intelligence and provided threat-analysis briefings to the Army Chief of Staff and other senior Department of Defense officials. From 1978 until he retired in 1993, he served in various high-level positions within DIA at the Pentagon, where he was responsible for studies, plans, and Congressional responses regarding Human Intelligence activities for DIA and CIA. While Carroll was recognized as an outstanding contributor within the Department of Defense, his family most valued him for his unqualified love and support in all their endeavors as well as his role in immersing his family in the rich culture of Europe for 12 years. He was an accomplished classical pianist, inspiring his sons and 7 grandchildren to study and appreciate music and dance. Carroll is survived by his sons, Eric and Carroll Swenson, and his brother, Gerald Werth. A reception will be held on Saturday, August 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Tarrington Clubhouse, 3500 Ashwell Dr., Midlothian, Va. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 1500 Forest Ave, Ste. 124, Richmond, Va. 23229. Online condolences to WoodyFuneralHome.com.