Obituary of Marvin Arthur Sandgren

Marvin Arthur Sandgren Age 95, passed away on July 24th 2015. Marvin was born to Arthur and Astrid Sandgren on September 12th, 1919 in the Camden neighborhood of Mpls. Married to his loving wife Bonny for over 68 years as a "nearly perfect" husband in their Robbinsdale home for most of those years. A life long member of Salem Lutheran Church, Marvin was a man of deep faith and active in all aspects of church affairs serving for many years on church boards and Salem Church Diner at the State Fair. Marvin was a graduate of the University of Minnesota - the first in his family to attend college, working his way through school. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering prior to the war and then his master's degree upon returning home. Serving in the US Navy during WWII he attained the rank of Lt JG. He taught thermo dynamics at the U of M while working on his masters and began his engineering career at General Mills working on aerospace projects. His career spanned projects designing instrumentation packages for stratospheric balloons, star navigation systems and ending up at PAR robotics working on robotic manipulators. Marvin was an active Y's man in the Northside YMCA and in the International YMCA. He was part of the founding group creating the current Northwest YMCA branch in New Hope. Constantly involved with the Y in various ways - selling many Christmas trees over the years supporting Camp Christmas Tree and Camp Manitou. Marvin and Bonny were socially active with their friends from the "bank group", church bowling league, square dancing and bridge clubs. A man who appreciated the natural world and all of God's creations - he passed this love of nature onto his children. He is survived by his wife Bonny; son Jay (Bobbie); daughter Janet; daughter Marna; grandchildren Molly (KeKoa) Rosa, Christopher and Gavin; great grandchildren Liam and Kailani Rosa. He will be dearly missed as he was a gentle and positive force in all our lives. He lived with integrity, dedication and kindness. Funeral services will be held at 11 AM on Monday August 3rd with visitation 1 hour prior to the service at Salem Lutheran Church, 4150 Dupont Ave N, Mpls, MN 55412. Fort Snelling burial service will take place at a later date. Memorials can be made either to Salem Lutheran or Opportunity Partners, 5500 Opportunity Court, Mtka, MN 55343.