William Edward "Swede" Gamble

William Edward "Swede" Gamble passed away on December 9, 2025 at Ridgeview Heath Center, in San Diego, California. He had struggled with Alzheimer's Dementia for the last 5 years. Mr. Gamble was born in Chanute, Kansas in 1942 to Guy and Jessie Gamble. The youngest of 6 children, he had 1 brother and 4 sisters. One sister, Wanda Haws, is still living in Mission, Kansas. As a child, he was called "Billy" by his family, and he acquired the nickname, "Swede" when he attended Kansas State University and rowed on the crew team. He was known by Swede for the remainder of his life. Except for when his mother or one of his siblings would call on the phone and ask for "Billy". It caused much confusion!

Swede married Nancy Reeves in 1967 and they were married until 1991. They had one daughter, Elizabeth (Beth) in 1971. Swede remarried in 2003 to Heather Marino (Not sure of her last name prior to their marriage). Heather had an 8-year-old daughter, Jacqueline, from a previous marriage and Swede very much enjoyed being a father figure and helping raise Jacqueline. Swede and Heather ended their marriage in 2013, but Swede remained close to Jacqueline.

Swede enlisted in the Navy after graduating from college and became a pilot. He mostly flew helicopters for the Navy and went into the Naval Reserves. After leaving active duty, he became an Accident Investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration. Initially, he worked for the FAA just outside of Detroit, Michigan. Then, in 1978 he moved his family to San Diego, California (much to the delight of Nancy who was not a fan of the cold Michigan winters) and continued to work for the FAA. He retired from Federal service and did private flight instruction and check rides until 2014.

To say Swede loved flying was an understatement. He bought a Cessna 195 in 1998, which he called "Dimples". He and his second wife, Heather, flew "Dimples" a great deal together. They even flew into the world's largest air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and down to Punta Chivato, in Baja California. They had a hangar at the Ramona Airport where they were regulars.

Swede also loved teaching. He taught aircraft accident investigation at Palomar Community College, in San Marcos, California for two decades. And taught countless people how to fly.

But one of the things Swede was really good at was telling stories. His friends and family can still recall countless dinners, camping trips and other family events where he would regale the group with some funny story. Usually he and his childhood neighbor, Jimmy Kindle, and a pet racoon were at the center of much hilarity. And if you ever heard him tell, "The Bird Story", you can still feel your sides hurting from laughing so hard.

Swede encouraged his child, step-child and countless nieces and nephews to be brave, take risks and go for their dreams. To this day, when his daughter has doubts about what she should do, she thinks to herself, "What would my dad encourage me to do?"

Swede will be missed by his remaining family, friends and countless aviators from all around the country.