Marc Swadener

Marc Swadener, 85, of Boulder, passed away on October 29. Marc was a committed husband of 60 years to Diane Swadener and loving father to Russ, Bill, Christine, Karen, and Matthew. He also was a proud grandfather to Lauren, Erin, Mary, Samuel, Carolyn, Sonja, Ryan, Alyssa, Katie, Layne, and Gavin.

Marc was born and raised in Mishawaka, Indiana where he graduated from high school. He enlisted in the Unites States Navy after graduation. He was tremendously proud of his naval service where he was an aviation electronics technician and received an honorable discharge at the end of his service. 

Marc met Diane in 1963 at a Catholic singles’ group event in South Bend, Indiana. Marc and Diane were married the following year at St. Joseph’s Church in Mishawaka, Indiana. Marc and Diane then started their family and had five children in the following years.

Marc pursued advanced education at Indiana University in Bloomington. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Education, Master of Science in Education, and received a Doctor of Education. He also taught high school math in Flint, Michigan while pursuing his advanced education.

After receiving his Doctor of Education degree, Marc accepted a position at CU Boulder’s School of Education as an associate professor. He spent the rest of career at CU where he retired as associate dean of the School of Education. In 1997, he received the Forest N. Fisch Award from the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics for advancing mathematics education throughout his career. After 31 years at CU Boulder, Marc retired in 2001.

Marc enjoyed home improvement projects, coin collecting, fishing, tennis, and spending time with his grandchildren. He loved driving and seeing the country by car. He often took the family on road trips throughout the United States. After retirement, he also enjoyed square dancing with Diane, visiting family, reading a good book, and napping in his chair (although he usually said he wasn’t asleep and heard everything).

Marc is survived by his brother, Paul; wife, Diane; children Russ, Bill, Christine, Karen, and Matthew; grandchildren Lauren, Erin, Mary, Samuel, Carolyn, Sonja, Ryan, Alyssa, Katie, Layne, and Gavin; and great-grandchildren August, Blair, Elliott, Eloise, Easton, Aubrianna, and Engleburt.

Marc will be honored in a committal service at Fort Logan National Cemetery on November 15 at 12:30 PM, located at 3698 S. Sheridan Blvd. Denver, CO 80235.

Donations can be made to CU Boulder, BUENO Center for Multicultural Education Fund, which Marc supported during his work at CU. For more information on the Bilinguals United for Education and New Opportunities (BUENO) center, please visit https://www.colorado.edu/center/bueno/.

Donations to the BUENO Center can be made through CU Boulder’s “Give to CU today” website, with designation referencing BUENO Center for Multicultural Education Fund, https://giveto.cu.edu/campaigns/48875/donations/new.