WAVERLY, Pa.--Ronald K. Swanson, 56, of Waverly, Pa., died unexpectedly at his home Sunday, May 23, 2004.

Lawrence Young Funeral Home of Clarks Summit, Pa., is in charge of arrangements. There will be no visitation. The funeral and burial of cremains is private. Friends may call at the Swanson home on Lily Lake Road in Waverly on Saturday, May 29, from 1 to 4p.m.

He was born July 5, 1947 in Holdrege, Neb., to Irene (Lawson) Swanson and the late Walter A. Swanson. In addition to his mother, Irene of Clarks Summit, Pa., formerly of Kearney and Holdrege, he is survived by: his wife Alison, Waverly, Pa.; two sons: Erik Swanson of Waverly and Lars Swanson of Clarks Green, Pa.; two daughters, Gretchen Swanson, Stamford, CT., and Anna Daniels of Olyphant, Pa.; two step-sons, Jeremiah and Avery Fordham of Waverly, Pa.; two sisters, Donna Swanson-Perrelet, Encinitas, Calif., and Roxanne Swanson, Clarks Summit, Pa.

He graduated from Holdrege High School in 1965 and Hastings College in 1969. He pursued graduate studies at Kearney State College, completed the College for Financial Planning in Denver, Colo., and National Securities School in Minneapolis, Minn. He held several NASD Licenses including Registered Principal's license.

His passion for radio began at age 16 at KUVR in Holdrege, where he hosted an on-air after school program for teens. After college, he was an instructor at Hastings Technical College where he wrote the text and developed the Radio Broadcasting and Sales courses. He returned to radio at KICS in Hastings as General Manager/Minority Shareholder, before becoming an Investment sales rep. for Apache Corp., later becoming President/Principal of Apache Programs' Inc. He founded and operated Swanson Financial Int'l. Inc., his own fully disclosed Broker/Dealer office for eight years before returning to radio. He owned and operated six radio stations and leased two others in Pennsylvania until selling them in 1998. In January 2004, he became President/Co-owner of Satterfield & Perry, Inc.

Mr. Swanson and his family previously lived in Hastings, Wayzata, Minn., Shawnee Mission, Kan., New Canaan, CT., before moving to Waverly in 1992.

He currently served as secretary to the National Association of Media Brokers. He was a life member of the Mid-West Lodge #317 A.F. & A.M.of Nebraska. He was one of the Founding officers of the Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders of Nebraska. He was a past member of Rotary International in several places he lived.

Memorials are suggested to Hastings Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders of Nebraska, Masonic Temple, 411 No. Hastings Ave., Hastings, NE 68901, or donor's choice of charity. You may write his sister, Roxanne Swanson, at 105 Carriage Lane, Clarks Summit, Pa., 18411, or phone at 570-586-8369.