Gale Alden Swanson

Gale Alden (G.A.) Swanson, 70, passed away Friday, July 3, 2009 at his home. He was born January 12, 1939 in Lemmon, South Dakota and was the son of George H.A. Swanson and Freda Wolff Swanson. He spent his early days in South Dakota, California, and Arizona. He attended elementary and three years of high school in Tucson. He graduated with honors from Lee Academy, Cleveland, Tennessee in 1956. During his college years he was a founding member of the Pioneers for Christ, participating in evangelistic missions throughout the U.S. and in Mexico. Following several terms at Lee College he entered the ministry of the Church of God, serving as a pastor, servicemen?s representative for Europe, and a decade as the editor of On Guard magazine, a ministry to the military. His work with the military touched many lives throughout the world, as he traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East, ministering. From 1963 until 1968 he was a missionary to the military in Europe through the Servicemen?s Department from Kaiserslautern, West Germany. He served as pastor of Kinser Church, and as the District Pastor while he completed his baccalaureate at Lee College, graduating in 1969. In 1970 after earning a Master of Arts in College Teaching from the University of Tennessee he entered a new career in academics, later returning to Lee College on the faculty of accounting and business law. He had a brief time in private industry working in sales, marketing, and accounting, and owned a restaurant, "The Deli" off the square in Cleveland. In 1982 he earned a Ph.D. from Georgia State University in Atlanta. Over the years he served as faculty at several institutions, including Roane State Community College, Lee College, South West State University of Marshall, Minnesota, West Georgia College, and 27 years at Tennessee Technological University. He was a founder of the Tennessee Society of Accounting Educators, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and participated in numerous academic and civic organizations. During his long academic career he served as the accounting department chairman at West Georgia College and Tennessee Tech University. Throughout his years at Tech he earned many faculty awards and was known internationally for his research in systems science. He authored numerous academic papers and books, and was known as a prominent organizational theorist whose work added to various areas of organizational science, from auditing to macro-accounting. He served in several leadership roles in the International Society for Systems Science (ISSS), ultimately as its president. He continued to be an active researcher and editor, serving many years on the editorial board of Behavioral Science, the premier academic journal of systems science. He was instrumental in the organization of many international conferences with the society, most recently in China where he presented a paper at the University of Science and Technology at Beijing. He was actively teaching during the semester prior to his death, and retired from Tennessee Tech in early June, 2009. He was preceded in death by his parents, George H.A. and Freda Wolff Swanson and niece, Kathy Jo Montgomery. He is survived by his former wife and mother of their children, Treasure Swanson; children, Connie Scheid and husband, Steven of Cordova, SC, George A. Swanson and wife Kathy of Knoxville and Nolan G. Swanson of Cleveland; grandchildren, Anthony Smith, Richard Smith and Cathryn Smith of Cookeville and Emily Swanson and Audrey Swanson of Knoxville; sisters, Joanne Montgomery and husband, Frank of Walnut Grove, CA and Darlene Woods and husband, Curtis of Independence, MO; and brothers, Ronald Swanson and wife, Pauletta of Benson, AZ and Tom Swanson of Tucson, AZ. He was greatly loved by family, friends and students throughout the years. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in the chapel of Ralph Buckner Funeral Home with Reverend David Bishop officiating. Entombment will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens with Joshua Montgomery, Don Weinrauch, R. Dan Fesler, Lamar Orr, Danny Jenkins and Anthony Sherlin, serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers are Charles Cooper and Don Cooke. A white dove release ceremony will conclude the service. The family will receive friends on Monday, July 6, 2009 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. The family requests that memorials be made to Hospice of Chattanooga Foundation, P.O. Box 19269, Chattanooga, TN 37416. We invite you to send a message of condolence and view the Swanson family guest book at www.ralphbuckner.com.