Carl "Bob" Robert Swanson

Carl Robert “Bob” Swanson passed away peacefully on August 10, 2021. Bob was born on August 19, 1927 in Minneapolis, MN to Carl August and Gertrude Stocke Swanson. He was the younger brother of Barbara Jean Swanson Severs. After a family move to Des Moines, IA and a brief stint in the Navy, Bob attended Iowa State University in Ames where he earned a degree in electrical engineering but more importantly, meets the love of his life Jewel “Judy” Willis. After graduation they moved to Chicago and were married in Evanston, IL on August 12, 1950. They soon found themselves living in New Jersey as he started his career at Bell Telephone Laboratories working on advanced radar and anti-ballistic missile systems. After working on the Nike Zeus missile system in White Sands his skills were brought to bear on the Sprint & Spartan Systems under development and testing based at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. For his efforts to bring a highly complex system in on time and meeting the successful goals of the project, the US Army awarded him with The Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.

After retiring and moving to Tucson, AZ, he and his beloved wife Judy spent many years traveling around the world, making new friends, and enjoying the company of their four children: Robert, Scott, Randall and Theodore; six grandchildren: Christy, Cassidy, Tyler, Corinne, Kelsey and Ashley; and two great grandchildren: Lincoln and Benjamin.

A celebration of life service will be held on September 25, 2021 at noon at East Lawn Palms Mortuary, 5801 East Grant Road, Tucson, AZ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, AZ.