01/24/2026
It is International Day of Education, and we would like to share a story of a hero who impacted lives through education and the ultimate gift. Meet Robert, a heroic tissue donor and impactful educator. His wife Carla shared that Robert Ward Swift also known as ‘Coach Bob’ was a physical education teacher and swim coach. He earned a Master of Arts in Adaptive Physical Education and served as the sole swim instructor at Variety School for 35 years which is a specialized school for children with moderate to severe mental and physical disabilities. As a coach, Bob first coached the Las Vegas Sandpipers, then the Gold and starting in the early 1990s, the Boulder City-Henderson Heatwave team. From 2003 to 2019, he coached the Green Valley High School swim team as well. The team always placed in the top three at state competitions. Bob was an active and faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in various youth leadership roles, including Assistant Scoutmaster, Blaze Leader, Primary Teacher, Scoutmaster and Young Men’s President. Bob was a lifelong athlete, passionate about cycling, running and swimming. In addition to numerous scenic long-distance rides, he completed a bucket list cross country tour covering over 3,000 miles in 2009. He also locally competed in multiple races, including five Silverman Triathlons as well as Challenge and Ironman Triathlons across Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States. Together, Bob and Carla raised six children and lovingly spoiled 27 grandchildren. In Bob’s words, he would tell you to, “Go out and do something good.” A specific example of this, that Bob wrote about, involved his time as a physical education teacher. One day, he took a group of students with autism to the municipal pool for a special swim day. The staff at the pool, who Bob knew from coaching at swim meets, had been somewhat concerned about the young men when they entered the water. However, when they saw that Bob was there, they were relieved of their concerns and knew everything would be fine. Bob took the young men into the pool, they walked around, talked about the rules, how to act, etc. all the while Bob always addressed them as gentlemen. One of the patrons who was finishing up in the locker room while the group was as well, came over and spoke with Bob. This man remarked at how impressed he was that Bob talked to the young men directly as gentlemen and not as children. This gave Bob a new perspective of individuals with special abilities and softened his heart even further to the important work he was doing. Be a hero and leave behind a legacy of ‘good’ like Bob: www.nvdonor.org
