Carl Swearingen's Obituary
CARL N. SWEARINGEN of Collierville, Tn. was born September 7, 1961 in Memphis, Tn. and passed away suddenly on Friday, December 5, 2014. He was the son of the late James David and Virginia Swearingen.Carl attended the University of Tennessee Knoxville and was a Solutions Advisor at FedEx. Carl met his future bride, Cathy Endicott Swearingen, while they were at Briarcrest High School, and they married in 1984. Cathy passed away in 2009, one month after celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.Carl is survived by his beloved children Stephen Swearingen of Murfreesboro, Tn. Ryan Swearingen and Carly Swearingen, both of Collierville, Tn. He is also survived by his twin brother, Roy Swearingen, of Memphis, Tn., his brother Jim Swearingen (Marsha) of Chattanooga, Tn., Betsy Talbot (Bill) of Houston, TX., sister Laura Swearingen of Memphis, Tn., nephew, Chip Talbot (Colleen), and niece Leina Swearingen Lunghi (Michael). He also leaves his mother and father-in-law, Barbara and Bill Endicott of Memphis, Tn., sister-in-law, Sheri Phipps (Jeff) and brother-in-law, Alan Endicott (Gerri). Carl also had other nieces and nephews who loved him dearly.In addition to his family, perhaps his greatest legacy was his devotion to the youth athletic programs of Collierville. When his sons, Ryan and Stephen, started playing hockey Carl coached both of their teams. He also managed the Collierville High School team for two years. Because that area did not have a travel team, Carl started and coached the first competitive youth traveling hockey team based out of Collierville.At the time of his passing Carl was head lacrosse coach for both Schilling Farms and Collierville Middle Schools’ Lady Dragons. He served as interim Collierville High School coach of the Lady Dragons lacrosse team for both Junior Varsity and Varsity teams 2013 – 2014. Most recently he was the 2014 liaison for West Tennessee to the Executive Board of the TGLA. He was instrumental in starting the annual Round Robin events in Collierville, which included a weekend of lacrosse tournaments for the Memphis area and surrounding states. Carl would be embarrassed by this recognition, but many parents have stated that Carl’s passion for coaching and his dedication to the girls’ youth lacrosse program have enabled the program to be what it is today. Carl loved to win games, but more importantly to him was that his kids had fun and learned team work.Services will be Thursday, December 11, 2014 at Central Church in Collierville with visitation from 12 – 2 p.m. and the service following at 2:00 p.m. It would be appreciated if in lieu of flowers Carl be remembered by donations to the Carl Swearingen Children’s Fund which can be dropped off at any Bank Tennessee branch location in the Memphis area.
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