Gary Wayne Swanson

Gary Wayne Swanson was born on September 28, 1933 in Marquette, Kansas to Glen and Irene Swanson. He was raised in Council Grove, Kansas and, after graduating from high school there, he attended Kansas State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Technical Journalism in 1955, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration in 1956. He also had a Master’s Degree from Southern Methodist University.

At Kansas State, he met his future wife, Lola Lee Donaldson, on a blind date. They were married on June 25, 1955 and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2025. They had three daughters who survive: Melinda Swanson Whitman (Lee), of Lenexa, Kansas; Michelle Lefler Baker (Brad) of Chandler, Arizona; and Melanie Duncan (John) of Collierville, Tennessee. He leaves behind six grandchildren: Matthew, Stephen, Megan, and Rebekah Whitman; Meredith Duncan Bzura (Johnny); and Heather Duncan Smeltser (Jonathan); and two great-grandchildren: Rosemary and Jude Smeltser; sisters Patsy Menning, and Anita Eden also survive. He was preceded in death by grandson, Aaron Lefler and brother Gene Swanson.

Gary spent most of his professional career with the IBM Corporation, a job that took him and the family to Oklahoma City, Detroit, Kansas City and Dallas. While in Kansas City, he was the Branch Manager for the Kansas City branch of IBM before retiring in 1989.

Following his retirement, Gary became very involved with veterans’ projects. Beginning with WWII veterans, he began interviewing them on videotape for the Veterans’ History Project for the Library of Congress. In 2005 he was honored by the Library of Congress for completing more oral histories with veterans than any other volunteer in the United States.

In 2008, he was the founder of the Kansas City Honor Flight Project which began by flying WWII veterans to Washington, D. C. to see the war memorial monuments and many times accompanied those veterans on their flights. He also sponsored a Veteran Living History Series at the Trailside Center in Kansas City, Missouri, which provided a venue where veterans could tell their stories. He was also instrumental in taking veterans to local middle and high schools beginning in 2003 where they could educate students about their experiences in the military. He volunteered in the Holiday Gift Bag project of the Jewish war veterans in providing gift bags to veterans at local VA hospitals. He was responsible for obtaining a piece of the USS Arizona from Pearl Harbor and a flag which flew over the Capitol which now is part of a Veterans’ Park in Roeland Park, Kansas.

In 2013 he was invited by the Kansas City Royals to sit in the Buck O’Neill Legacy Seat, which honors area citizens who have made a difference to people in the Kansas City area, during a Royals home game in recognition for his service to Kansas and Missouri veterans. He was a proud associate member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and an honorary member of the Jewish War Veterans Post 605. He was a member of the Colonial Presbyterian Church since 1982. He also “tread the boards” for a number of years as an actor in the Senior Barn Players.

Though his personal accomplishments are many, his greatest love was for his family and grandchildren. He had a passion for travel and took many trips in his lifetime, including taking

each grandchild on an international trip when they turned twelve years old. He felt it was important for them to learn the value of experiencing different cultures and that underneath it all, we are all God’s creations. He was a man who lived a selfless life and will be greatly missed. He was a strong Christian man who lived a selfless life in the model of Philippians 2:3: “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others more significant than yourself.” He went to be with the Lord on November 17th and though his family misses him terribly, we are grateful knowing that Jesus met him at Heaven’s door and joyously welcomed him with a new body and a hearty “well done my good and faithful servant!”

As noted, Gary had an incredible passion for our veterans, even though he himself was not a one, and the tremendous sacrifice they each have made for our country. His most recent project was working to secure funding for the Leawood Veterans Memorial, and he mentioned shortly before his passing that a big regret was not raising enough funds to fully pay for the project. Our family would ask each of you, as a way of honoring Gary and our country’s veterans, to please help get this project over the finish line and donate to this wonderful memorial. You can visit the website: www.leawoodveteransmemorial.org for more information on how to donate online, or you can write a check payable to the Leawood Foundation (note in the Memo that it is for the Veterans Memorial) and mail to: 4800 Town Center Drive, Leawood, KS 66211. All sizes of donations are welcome but if each of you were able to give just $100, we would quickly fully fund the project in Gary’s memory.

A memorial celebration service of Gary’s life will take place at 3pm on Sunday, January 18th at Colonial Presbyterian Church, 9500 Wornall Road, Kansas City, Missouri, 64114.