ISU honors SL native for gift

COL. GARY SWENSON

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A Storm Lake native will be honored Nov. 3 by Iowa State University for a gift that endows a newly created dean’s position in his name.

The estate of the late Gary Swenson is funding the Colonel Gary G. Swenson Ph.D. Dean of Library Services position. Hilary Seo, who has been head of the library since 2021, will be formally installed as the inaugural library dean during a ceremony in Ames next Monday.

“The library has long been celebrated as the heart of Iowa State University,” said ISU President Wendy Wintersteen. “The Swensons’ generous gift will foster collaborative, innovative, and interdisciplinary services that support research and learning across campus and beyond.”

Seo expressed deep gratitude for the gift, which will support new initiatives and programs tailored to the evolving needs of the campus community.  

“This gift is especially meaningful as we conclude the year-long centennial celebration of our main location, Parks Library. The University Library has supported research and scholarship at Iowa State for more than 150 years, and the Swensons’ support will benefit future generations of students well into our next century of service,” Seo said.

“Gary had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge,” said his friend, Ronald Groth. “He was a vociferous reader. He didn’t just skim a book; he absorbed and digested it. He could recall details he had read many years after the fact. It is only fitting that part of his legacy will forever be tied to the Iowa State University Library.”

Gary, who was born in Oelwein, grew up in Storm Lake and graduated from Storm Lake High School in 1967. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of South Dakota, then went to Iowa State University to complete his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics in 1973 and 1976.

After graduation, he began serving in the United States Army as a field artillery officer. While on active duty, he completed a master of business administration in 1994 from Marymount University of Virginia and the United States Army War College. Col. Swenson’s final US Army assignment was as Chief of Staff at the Center for Army Analysis, stationed at Fort Belvoir, Va.

After 30 years in the Army, he retired in 2005 in Fairfax Station, Va., to enjoy tutoring at Lorton Community Action Center, Ham radio events with the Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club, yard (especially Zoysia grass) and home maintenance.

Gary met Sheila Taylor while both were assigned to the 56th Field Artillery Brigade (Pershing) in 1986 and finally tied the knot on Nov. 26, 2004.

Gary died unexpectedly of a heart attack at home on Friday, June 13, 2025. Interment was in Arlington National Cemetery. He was 75 years old.

Gary has several friends and classmates who still live in the Storm Lake area and his sister Tania Gutz lives here. His brother Greg lives in Chesapeake, Va.