Paul R Swanson

Paul Robert Swanson, 92, Bismarck, died at home under the care of hospice on October 28, 2017.  Services will be held on Saturday, November 4th at 2:00 PM at First Lutheran Church, 800 N. 7th St., Bismarck. Visitation will begin at 5:00 PM on Friday, November 3, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, with a prayer service at 6:30. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Bismarck. Paul was born October 25, 1925, to A. M. and Inga Swanson at Oberon, ND, where A. M. was a Lutheran Student Pastor.  As pastoral positions can involve a great deal of repositioning, Paul spent his early childhood years moving about Indiana and Illinois, before settling in McIntosh, MN, to begin school.  Once again, the Swanson family was moved...this time to Sheyenne, ND, where Paul attended junior high and high school, excelling in mathematics and sports, and graduating high school in 1943.  Paul spent his next two years at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, where he continued feeding his thirst for learning in the field of mathematics and his love of sports.  Then in 1946 Paul made another move, this time to Jamestown College in Jamestown, ND, as his pastor father had been positioned there, and Paul could live at home and go to school.  It was too good a deal to pass up, so in 1948, after two years of varsity play in basketball and football, and a BA degree in mathematics from Jamestown in his hand, Paul headed for the world of work.Paul had a brief teaching position at Kenmare before heading to Beulah for a six-year stint as math teacher and head coach. Paul finally did meet that special Beulah girl; a sweet young thing that flipped his heart, and on August 13, 1950, Paul Swanson and Marilynn Easton were wed.  While Paul's coaching took the basketball team to three state tourneys, and gave Beulah an undefeated football team, his summers were filled with school and studying as Paul worked on a master’s degree.  Then in 1954, after Paul had earned that Master Degree from UND, the Bismarck Pubic School Board took a serious look at him.  So, the family made one more move...to Bismarck, and that has been home ever since.  Paul taught math at BHS and BJC and was a coach in the BHS basketball program until 1960 when he became head coach of the Bismarck Demons basketball team.  He was with the team until 1969, and during that time his boys qualified for state competition six consecutive years and vied in the state championship game twice. In 1957 Paul accepted a full-time teaching position at Bismarck Junior College where he chaired the Math-Engineering Department and assisted in the Athletic Department.  When he retired in 1987, he had given thirty years of service to BSC, and over forty years in all to the fields of teaching and coaching in Bismarck.  In appreciation of these years Paul garnered a number of tokens: Paul earned five National Science Foundation Scholarships to study graduate mathematics at the Universities of Kansas, Montana, and Rutgers,In 1985 he was awarded BSC's highest award, the Distinguished Service Citation, In 2005 Paul received the Quarterback Club's Roger Higgins Award, In 2010 he was inducted into the BSC Athletic Hall of Fame, and was awarded the Golden Whistle. In 2014 the Paul Swanson Scholarship for Students Award was established at BSC, and in 2015 BSC conferred the status of Professor Emeritus on Paul Swanson. After his retirement, Paul and Marilynn took to the road, traveling around Europe, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, and Canada.  They enjoyed more than 20 winters in the southwest at Hemet, CA, and Mesa, Yuma, and Lake Havasu, AZ.  Paul loved golfing, boating, and walleye and salmon fishing.  But most of all, he enjoyed and noted with pride the singular accomplishments of his former students and athletes, and celebrated their successes With love, Paul leaves behind his wife of 67 years, Marilynn (Easton) and their three sons:  Michael (Saundra) Swanson, Lee's Summit, MO; Gregory (Rochelle) Swanson, Lincoln, NE; and Robert (Terri) Swanson, Plymouth, MN; nine grandchildren:  Chancellor, Jeremy, Nikki, Michelle, Danielle, Jared, Dusti, Delane, and Mateo and nine great-grandchildren; his sisters:  Mary Ann (Doug) Wessel, La Quinta, CA, and Jean (C.W.) Faucett, Bakersfield, CA; a brother in-law and sister-in law, Dick and Judi Easton, Nashua, NH; two sisters-in-law:  Dee Easton, Raleigh, WA, and Evy Easton, Billings, MT; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. Paul was preceded in death by his parents, brother Em Swanson, sister-in law Ardie Swanson, and brothers-in-law, Don Easton, and David Easton. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the BSC Paul Swanson Scholarship for Students, the First Lutheran Church, or to a memorial of your choice.