Charles “Charley” B. Swayne, Jr. was born in South Carolina Sept. 15, 1944, to Charles B. Swayne and Emilie Elizabeth Blitch Swayne. He married Carol Lavarine in November 1964.
He attended Virginia Tech, graduating with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business. He served in the Army from October 1967 until November 1970 in Germany. While in the Army he earned his MBA from the University of Utah.
In December of 1970, Charley went to work for the Trane Company in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He worked for Trane for four years before starting his own indoor tennis facility which morphed into a full fitness facility. While running a business he also taught in the Marketing Department at the University of Wisconsin for over 20 years. He was an international speaker on fitness club management and wrote for several club fitness magazines. He served on the board of the International Recreational Sports Association. He published several books and taught at the World Series of Poker. Charley always wanted to come back to Blacksburg to teach at Virginia Tech. His dream came true in 2018 when he joined the faculty at Virginia Tech.
After nearly four years of dealing with the effects of the Covid Vaccine, he passed away Dec. 28, 2024. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Carol Swayne; children, Charles Swayne III (Julianne) of Maineville, Ohio, Timothy Brian Swayne (Rachel) of Sammamish, Washington, Tracy Kuschel (Mark) of Weatherford, Texas, and Joseph Swayne (Rebecca) of St. Paul, Minnesota; eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren; and sister-in-law, JoAnn Mann of Orange Park, Florida.
The family will receive friends 10:30 -11:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, at St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Christiansburg. Funeral services will begin at 11:30 a.m. with entombment in St. Jude’s Catholic Columbarium to follow.
In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to St. Jude’s Catholic Church.
The Swayne family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford.
