Thomas Swigunski
My Dad was born in St. Louis, Missouri and has extensive international and domestic travel experience. He has been the primary inspiration for my current travels and helped me “catch the travel bug” with one of my first trips to Europe. He has worked internationally in a variety of countries like Iraq, Jordan, and Myanmar. As an electrical engineer with 35+ years of experience, he loves to see how things work and no problem is ever big enough for my Dad to solve!
Here is some more info about my Dad: Born in St.louis but he moved every couple of years starting when he was 8. His family lived in Kansas City, Manitou Springs, Phoenix, Costa Mesa and Mesa Arizona. He graduated from St. Louis University in 1970 with a BS in electrical engineering and earned an MBA in 1975.
My Dad met my Mom in 1970 and married in 1972. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2011 from breast cancer and is dearly missed every day.
He worked for Ameren Electric for 33 years and retired early in 2003, then he went back to work in 2007 for Stanley Baker Hill in Iraq for a year and a half. in 2013 he has also worked for Wamar International as a project manager and retired permanently the beginning of 2015 after suffering a heart attack.
My Dad has a wonderful girlfriend, Mary who lives with him and they share many of the same interests; traveling, history, food, and science.
Favorite Quote: “Happiness is up to you but you have to work at it.” – My Dad
Favorite Movie: Cool Hand Luke
Favorite Book: The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins
Favorite Travel Destination: Croatia for Now
Below you will find a recorded call/interview with my Dad that talks about his childhood, travel, and life in general!
Fran Swigunski
My Mom was born in St. Louis, Missouri and actually did not like to fly, but loved traveling domestically on road trips! She was the kindest and most caring person I have ever met. In 2011, she passed away from breast cancer and she has been a big inspiration for me to pursue my passion for international travel and business.
“Carry my LOVE east to west. Wherever you go I’ll go too….LOVE knows no distance or time” -Fran Swigunski
My mother was also a published author and musical writer. She released a book shortly before she passed away. It is called Fran, That Lucky Devil and you can view it for free here. Her book is a compilation of short stories, poems, and interviews from her friends and family.
In addition to producing a book, she was also a talented musical songwriter and produced a full album called Starsteps, below you can listen to one of her singles called “A Child I Could Not Stay.”
Some of the families favorite memories with Fran!
From Laura Hurt:
“Mike, I have too many favorite Aunt Fran stories to recount! Whether it was her helping me and Scott find a house in STL, only to eventually be banned by the homeowners for inspecting the property too aggressively 😂, or the time she hosted a shower for me and bucked all tradition of goofy bridal games and did a local chocolate shake taste-testing game because we had a shared love of great ice cream, or the time there was a great price on CDs at a local bank and she wanted to get more than one – but the bank said she could only get one – so your Mom grabbed a wig and new outfit and went back in disguise so she could get one more! I’m cracking up just thinking about her telling me that story and remembering how hard she laughed too.
Your Mom was one of a kind and I still think of her all the time. She loved you and Joe fiercely and was so incredibly proud of both of you. I’m thinking of all of you today and sending lots of love your way ❤️.”
From Joe Swigunski:
“One of my favorite memories of my mom was when she wanted me to perform at a retirement home, but I needed a PA and she twisted my dad’s arm to get a Bose PA so I could do shows. It was a $75 gig for which they bought a 2k piece of equipment, I always had 100% financial and emotional support from my mother when pursuing music and it’s given me the support I needed to be creative. Without that support, I don’t think I’d be the person I am today.”
From Mike Swigunski:
“One of the most memorable and impactful things I remember growing up from both my parents is incorporating kindness to others in every-day scenarios, with friends, family, and strangers. One really great story from my Mom was the time she met a family that was in desperate need! This family was complete strangers and my Mom decided to step in and help by donating the Van we owned along with a lot of other things. When my Mom got involved in anything, she was 200% invested into it and there was no stopping her. Thinking back, it almost became a weekly or monthly occurrence of my Mom helping someone in need. Both my parents have selflessly put the needs of others well ahead of their own and it’s something I strive to do on a daily basis!”
From Tom Swigunski:
1. “I guess the fondest memory I have of our Mom is when we first met. Your Uncle John and his then-girlfriend Aunt Mary were going to a dance at UMSL. I called John and mentioned I would be going also. He asked if I would be interested in taking his sister Fran. I said yes. One problem I had no money. I had been saving pennies in this plastic Cardinal bank. So I took the pennies to Bettendorf Rapp to cash in, which gave me I think about $1.50.
I had never been to John’s house and had never met any of his family. So I drove to Diamond Dr. and knocked on the door and your Grandmother answered. I told her I was a friend of Johns and was picking up Fran to go to a dance.
You should know, I was a little nervous. But your Grandmother was so nice to me that it made me feel very much at ease. When Fran walked into the room she had her wonderful smile on. I introduced myself and we left. As we started to cross Diamond Dr. I made a remark about the terrible weather in St. Louis. She replied, “well, you should leave!” I knew right away this person was genuine and had her own ideas. We spent the night talking. I think I left her house around 2 am. AS I was driving home, I thought “this could be the person I want to spend the rest of my life with!”
2. A funny one, is the time I had a bad cold with a terrible cough. After several hours of not being able to sleep. I got up and your Mom asked “Where are you going?”. I said, “I’m going downstairs and have a talk with Jack”. I was getting a drink of Jack Daniels to help my cough. Your Mom comes down and asks “who is this Jack you’re going to talk to at 1 am?”
3. We were heading to Disney World with Jeannie, Lance, and you guys. Mom was always nervous with me driving through the Smoky Mountains. So I let her drive. As we got to the steeper sections she started to go slower and slower. Cars and semis were passing us which was kind of dangerous, so asked her to speed up. However, she didn’t. Then Jeannie started to make fun of her and naturally, you guys jumped in as well. Saying, “there is a guy on a bike that just passed us”. Then someone said “a jogger just went by! The best was Lance joining in saying, “oh my a turtle just went by!”
4. One of the proudest moments of our Mom occurred one Sunday when we had a number of family and friends over. We had just found out that your Uncle Greg had HIV. At this time little was known about the disease and significant misinformation was out there. Someone said, “I don’t think it is safe to be around Greg”. Your Mom stood up and said, Greg is my brother and I love him. This is when he needs a hug from and for us and to let him know we love him!”
From Vicky Czapla: “I remember the first time I met your momma…she walked in the door to apply for an advertising rep position. Which at the time I was not hiring. She was very passionate about working for the newspaper. Somehow the conversation changed to buying her CD…which I did and on Monday your momma started work. I loved her dearly..I also remember the lunchtimes we shared at Faraci Pizza…half shrimp for your momma and half sausage for me. The talks we would have. I always remember Frannie in my heart and mind. Her book sits prominently on a shelf in my library. Your momma was one of a kind. She was a very dear friend. She had a wonderful laugh. She also loved her family very very much. I still miss her today.”
Joseph Swigunski
Joe has lived in a multitude of cities across the USA (St. Louis, Del Ray Beach, LA, etc.) Born in Saint Louis, but he is currently based in Los Angeles, California. He is a talented musician by night and biomedical engineer by day. Joe has traveled extensively across the USA, Europe, and Asia.
You can check out Joe’s music here at NewMayans.com
Favorite Quote: “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Favorite Movie: The Thing
Favorite Book: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Favorite Travel Destination: Budapest, Hungary
Below you will find a recorded call/interview with my brother that talks about his childhood, travel, and life in general!
Michael Swigunski
Mike Swigunski was born in St. Louis, Missouri and spent the first 20 years living in Missouri, but once he traveled internationally he was hooked and knew that international travel would be his main goal in life. He feels really fortunate to have had such a fantastic childhood full of great experiences, friendships, and an amazing family.
Bio: Mike Swigunski, is the founder of the remote job board GlobalCareer.io and author of the best selling book titled, Global Career: How to Work Anywhere and Travel Forever. He has worked remotely and internationally in over 85+ countries over the past decade and loves sharing his passion and knowledge with others. Over the past decade, Mike has been working internationally and remotely with experiences that have provided him a unique 360-degree view of the remote work environment. Whether it’s working as a remote employee, helping build one of America’s fastest-growing remote companies, or running his own remote company. Mike knows what works and what does not.
Mike’s passion is to grow professionally while working around the world, absorbing other cultures and gaining a global perspective on business and life.
Favorite Quote: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Favorite Movie: The Great Escape
Favorite Book: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Favorite Travel Destination: Prague, CZ (In Summer)