Oct. 19, 1930 to Jan. 21, 2021
Marty as he was known to many was born in Allegan, Michigan to Ernest W. and Elva VanOrman Swanty. He was the third of four children and was raised on the family farm until 1945 when the family relocated to Mesa, Ariz. He attended Mesa High School where he excelled in football, earning a scholarship to Northern Arizona University. Following college, he married his first wife Diane Canning with whom he had two children, Jeff and Debbie. Later on, he married Patricia Brown who had two children, Melody and Mickey from a previous marriage, and together Marty and Pat had two more, Marti and Meri. For the first four years of marriage he was a Phoenix Police Officer and a member of the Army National Guard. From police work he went on to try several occupations including Greyhound bus driver, fence salesman, Orange Julius restaurant owner, trucking company owner and car salesman. In car sales he found his passion. He was hired by Brown & Hoeye Chevrolet & Oldsmobile in Mesa as a used car salesman. He excelled in sales and was soon offered a management position. In 1968 he opened his first dealership in Nogales, Ariz., where he sold all lines General Motors offered at the time. Later on, he owned Martin Swanty Auto Sales in Mesa until he was recruited to become General Manager for Duane Brown Chevrolet in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Prior to moving to Salt Lake City, Martin met and married his third wife Mary Blattner who had daughter Diana Dinger (1965 – 2011) from a previous marriage. Son Cody Swanty was born to Martin and Mary in Salt Lake City. In 1978 he moved his family back to Arizona where he purchased another car dealership in Winslow. At this new dealership called Martin Swanty Auto Sales he sold Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Datsun (later to become known as Nissan.) He was very active in the city, successfully running for and serving on the Winslow City Council.
In 1985 Marty opened Martin Swanty Chrysler Plymouth Dodge in Kingman where it all seemed to come together for him. He found what was to become his and his family’s home for the next 36 years. He went on to open other car and motorcycle dealerships in Kingman including Kia, Hyundai, Thrifty Used Cars, Victory motorcycles, and Indian motorcycles. He has also owned and operated Swanty’s Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge & Ram in Bullhead City for many years. Last fall in conjunction with son and business partner Cody Swanty he opened up Martin Swanty’s Paradise Auto in Lake Havasu City. He also owned and operated other businesses in northern Arizona most of which were associated with the automobile business.
Martin and his family loved Kingman where he became part of the fabric of the community. He was known for his involvement and generosity. If Kingman and surrounding area needed a volunteer and financial support for a worthy cause, Martin was there. He was fond of saying, “If I didn’t already live in Kingman, I’d move here.” He took pride in serving as the Andy Devine Parade’s Grand Marshall in recent years and having his name on the Martin Swanty Arena at the Mohave County Fairgrounds. He was active with many organizations including the Republican Party, The Kingsman, Rotary, Elks and the Kingman Airport Authority.
A private service will be held with the family and friends are welcome to attend the Celebration of Life Feb. 6, beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Kingman Elks Lodge, 900 Gates Ave. in Kingman.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation to Kingman Cancer Care Unit, P.O. Box 3014, Kingman, A. 86402
