Karen Charlene Swalley, 79, of Greencastle, passed away on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, surrounded by her family.
Born Nov. 30, 1945, in Brazil, the daughter of Herbert “Herb” and Charlotte (Fischer) Muenster. Karen was a graduate of Brazil High School “Class of 1963,” received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University and her master’s degree from Purdue University in education.
Karen started her teaching career in 1967 at Greencastle High School and taught there until her retirement in 2005, leading the science and interdisciplinary academic teams to multiple state championships. She returned and taught five years part-time at GHS, taught classes at Ivy Tech, and for the master’s program at DePauw University.
She was a member of the Gobin Church and the Indiana and Putnam County Retired Teacher’s Associations.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Oran Muenster.
Karen is survived by husband Dean Swalley; son Drew Swalley; daughter Shandol (husband Jeffrey) Hoover; and grandson Nathan “Nate” Hoover.
A celebration of life for Karen will be held at later date at Gobin Church.
Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Karen to the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society at LLS.org.