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Robert G. SwanSwan, Robert G. 86 June 18, 1927 Sept. 27, 2013 Charbonneau resident Robert G. Swan died Friday,Sept. 27, 2013. He was 86. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, at theMultnomah Athletic Club in Portland with private interment in St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church inWilsonville. Bob was a born and bred Oregon State Beaver who professionally was a public relationsexecutive, a newspaper editor and the owner-publisher of three newspapers. He grew up in Corvalliswhere his father, Grant ""Doc"" Swan, was a world-class miler in 1920 for Oregon State and for 37 years wasthe head track coach at the university. ""I was raised to believe there wasn't any school other than OregonState,"" Bob once said of his upbringing. After graduating from Corvallis High School, he served in the U.S.Coast Guard, returning to Corvallis in 1947 to attend Oregon State. He joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternityand was active in the chapter for decades. He was initiated in the Sigma Delta Chi professional journalisticfraternity in 1948 and served as editor of the Oregon State Barometer. On July 15, 1951, he marriedPatricia Kelly of Cottage Grove. She died in 2010. The Swans were residents of Charbonneau, who withtheir daughter, KC, published the monthly Charbonneau Villager from Nov. 1984 through 2009. Duringmany of those years as publisher of the Villager, he also was opinion page editor of the Hillsboro Argus and public relations director of the Multnomah Kennel Club. His journalism career began in high school as a part-timer at the Corvallis Gazette-Times, then continued after Oregon State at the Denver Post, the Portland bureau of United Press and The Oregonian. He later worked in public relations for Richfield Oil/ARCO and Portland General Electric, serving as president of the Portland chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in 1964. He was the owner-publisher of the Milwaukie Review, and in 1968, became editor of thePortland Daily Journal of Commerce. In the 1970s, he and long-time friend and business associate, Walt McKinney, purchased the Roseville (Calif.) Press Tribune. He and his family moved to Roseville in 1978 where he was publisher of the paper. He also served as president of the Gold Unit of the California Newspaper Publishers Association. In 1982, he returned to Portland as deputy sports editor of The Oregonian. While in Roseville, he became a huge fan of the San Francisco 49ers. He witnessed firsthand ""The Catch,"" regarded as one of the most memorable catches in National Football League history, and the 38-16 victory ofSan Francisco over Miami in the 1985 Super Bowl at Stanford Stadium. He and his wife, Pat, followed the 49ers to three more Super Bowls. Bob was passionate about Oregon State sports, and for decades was a donor and season ticket holder in football, men's basketball and women's gymnastics. He served as president of the OSU Alumni Association and was a lifetime member, as well as co-founder, of the Beaver Huddle and Portland Linebackers. He took up snow skiing in his mid-40s and served as president of Cascade Ski Club. He was a director and life member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, a board member of the Portland Rose Festival Association, member of the Multnomah Athletic Club, National Newspaper Publishers Association andserved as president of the Charbonneau Country Club in 1995-97. He is survived by daughters, Kelly Bahlburg of Plano, Texas and KC Swan of Lake Oswego; son, John Swan of Eugene; and eight grandchildren. Remembrances to the A. Grant SwanMemorial Endowment Fund at OSU. The family thanks Providence Hospice and the staff of SpringRidge and SpringRidge Court for their care and support.

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Robert Grant Swan

June 18, 1927 - September 27, 2013