Dr. John Raymond Swanda Jr., Ph.D.

July 5, 1936 - May 13, 2012
SOUTH BEND - Longtime South Bend resident and educator Dr. John Raymond Swanda Jr. died of natural causes on Mother's Day. Born in Schuyler, Nebraska, to John Raymond Sr. and Margaret Swanda (nee Weber), John played collegiate football and studied business management at Midland College and the University of Nebraska, where he received his Master's in Finance in 1960. He continued his studies in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Illinois, where he was introduced to his lovely wife of 44 years, Gwendolyn Swanda (nee Thelin). After receiving his doctorate in 1968, John and his wife moved to South Bend where he was given a professorship in the Business and Economics Department at Indiana University South Bend. As he rose through the ranks at IUSB to become Director of their MBA program in 1978, John and his wife raised their three children and became very active in the community of their adopted hometown of South Bend. He was a founding member of Christ the King Lutheran Church, involved in numerous charitable organizations, and was a fixture on the soccer fields, football gridirons, basketball courts and in the audiences of his children's many sporting events and performances. To John, family always came first. As an academic, he set standards of expertise in the fields of Organizational Conflict, Business Ethics and Human Capital Theory. He became well-known for writing five books and numerous professional journal publications, as well as mentoring and shaping the minds of thousands of students over his 32-year career. The culmination of which was becoming Dean of the department in 1995. In his five years as Dean of Business and Economics, he raised the standards of the department and helped it gain national recognition. Although he retired from IUSB in 2000, he continued to mentor and teach young entrepreneurs by volunteering at the SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" program for the rest of his life. Even though he was a practical man, he enjoyed a good laugh, lived for the time he spent as an amazing father and grandfather, and was seldom prone to anger unless it involved a bad call by a referee against his beloved Chicago Cubs, Bears, Bulls, Nebraska Cornhuskers or Indiana Hoosiers. He was a fine angler, and had the fish on his wall to prove it. He was equally comfortable being the life of the party or the guy who would just listen to what you had to say. He gave generously of his time and money, not only to his friends, family and colleagues, but to the community also. It was all these people who helped him cope with the tragic death of his youngest son, Brett Alan Swanda, in 2005, and the death of his wife, Gwen, only nine months ago in September. Those who knew him well knew what a caring and sensitive man he was, and how his presence in our lives made us better people. He will be fondly remembered but sorely missed by the South Bend community he loved so much. He is survived by his very grateful son, Gus Swanda, and his wife, Rosa Swanda; daughter, Koren Scott; grandchildren, Tucker and Zoe Scott; sister, Sharon Sherman and her husband, Norman Sherman. They will be holding a celebration of the lives of both John and Gwen Swanda at Christ the King Lutheran Church at 2:30 pm on June 24th, which is also their 45th wedding anniversary. All are invited to attend. Condolences may be sent to 16313 Cypress Court, Granger, IN 46530. Any donations may be made to the John R. Swanda Scholarship Fund at IUSB, the Brett A. Swanda Scholarship Fund at Indiana University, Bloomington's School of Optometry, and to Christ the King Lutheran Church, 17195 Cleveland Road, South Bend, IN 46635.