 |
Arthur C. 'Sandy' Sandstrom Flower Mound, TX QCWA # 34056 |
Arthur C. Sandstrom, 81, passed into the hands of our most loving Lord on Thursday 30 Jul 2015, after a short battle with brain cancer, surrounded by family and friends. Art was born on 30 December 1933 in the small Norwegian community of Poulsbo, Washington. Raised by his great-grandmother in a 4 generational home, Art spoke predominately Norwegian until starting elementary school.
From humble beginnings 'Sandy', as he was known to family and friends, traveled the world. The Army sent him to Nome, Alaska for a 1year tour of duty which he extended for 10 years, going 'native' at times living and hunting with Eskimo families when not on official duties. Many of his short stories are based in these 10 years demonstrating his love of the climate, geography and native peoples. During this time he was asked 'at the convenience of the government' to transfer from the Army to the Air Force which had taken over the communication station where Art worked. He was rather amused during that official transfer that the Air Force wanted him to take an Artic survival course. a course he could have taught having lived through -60 degree blizzard white outs on many occasions for multiple years.
Art retired from the US Air Force after 21 years of honorable and distinguished service having added Vietnam and Germany to his offshore living experiences. Friends made and experiences shared constantly showed up on Art's doorstep for decades regardless of where he lived. As each new visitor got comfortable, family would hear stories of some mischief event Art conveniently forgot to share, and often disclaimed!
Shortly after retiring from the military and a short stent in the CIA on Presidential security detail, Art began his second 20-year Federal career as an Industrial Security Specialist for the Defense Investigative Service (now the Defense Security Service). This assignment kept him 'local' with his territory being just Dallas to Oklahoma City and every hamlet in-between. Along with wild stories he collected from the unique folks he interviewed, he'd often bring home a stray kitten. Tripod (a 3-legged speed ball), Bandit (a true thief who'd bring stuff from the dirty clothes and deposit at guest or clients' feet) and Pandora (a princess who wrecked pure havoc for years) represented the various personalities Art loved to collect in animal or human form!
After a second 20 year span Art 'retired' from the Federal service and began his third 20 year career as a special investigator for many of the 'alphabet soup' Federal investigative/law enforcement agencies. Even though his territory was smaller - just the 4 counties surrounding Dallas. Art stayed on the go constantly still loving the discovery of small details which helped his clients become truly unique folks for him. Only after his recent diagnosis did Art finally retire on May 15th, 2015 from work he called his 'retirement hobby'. It is said that a person who truly enjoys their career never works a day in their life; this was truly the case with Art as three distinct 20-year careers flew by. His work reflected both his talent and a very high standard consistently admired by his many colleagues and associates. Often he was tapped to mentor new agents as they learned their way through government security jungles.
Art was a fascinating man, with many interesting and dear friends. He traveled the globe but he wasn't a normal tourist. his natural curiosity and desire to learn made him a scholar of the world. He was a voracious reader, writer and story-teller and a master of the English, German and Norwegian languages. He was also well-versed in Latin. Although Art came close to obtaining his Bachelor's degree on more than one occasion, he never felt the need to complete this. Indeed, with an IQ of 151 and an insatiable desire for learning, his knowledge was equivalent to a doctoral degree. It was often hard for him to not be the teacher vs student in the classroom. Many times he would come from class and write the prof a personal note quietly expanding on or correcting something discussed in class - once, of course he'd made certain he was absolutely correct!
He was a member of both Mensa and Intertel, the latter the high-IQ society reserved for those at or above the 99th percentile in intelligence. He had knowledge no college could accord; anyone who knew him could attest to this. Indeed, he loved to test people on their knowledge and many a 'student' walked away scratching their head at the meaning of or reason for the interchange - he so reveled in these silly rituals! And although Art never sought fame and fortune it was without question that if he so desired, he would have been a phenomenal author. Indeed, his many short stories and flowing letters described by his friends prove this.
Art wasn't only a writer and story-teller; he was a communicator by trade. In the Air Force he served in areas of communications such as radio, teletype, and cryptology. He was adept at Morse-code. He so enjoyed communications he never really stopped. An avid amateur 'ham' radio hobbyist, he spent many hours on the radio speaking to 'neat people' in faraway places, often in different languages. One such contact was the King of Jordan who could often be found on the airways in the wee hours of the night. Art was constantly tweaking his equipment, rearranging antennas, and trying out new radios. Many an evening you could hear the 'da di da dit' intervals of the Morse code clicking in the night as Art plied his trade, his hobby, his love.
Art is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Dr. Jeannine Sandstrom, and three children - Robert Sandstrom and his wife Patricia of Republic, Mo; Dawn Mobley and her husband David of Oklahoma City, OK; and David Sandstrom of Midwest City, OK. Art is also survived by 6 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. Art and Jeannine also had many dear friends, both far and near, many of whom they met while traveling the waterways and paths of places no sane tourist would venture!
The family extends its most heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all the friends, clergy and neighbors who have stopped by, brought food, flowers and gifts, called, texted, or written letters and just been there with us. The family would also like to thank the wonderful nurses and staff of Ardent Hospice. Without question, these gestures from all have made this time much more bearable.
And so it is tragic and bittersweet that the cancer attacked an area of the brain that in part, made Art the verbal sleuth so dearly loved by so many.
A service to celebrate Art's life will be held 2:00 pm Saturday, August 22, 2015, at Flower Mound United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Flower Mound United Methodist Church, Attn: Pipe Organ Fund, 3950 Bruton Orand Blvd, Flower Mound, Texas 75022 or Karen Fink MD, PhD, Neuro-Oncology Research Fund, Baylor Health Care System Foundation, 3600 Gaston Ave, Suite 100, Dallas,Texas 75246.