Robert Sundberg, "Bob," passed away suddenly the morning of May 24th, 2019. He had just finished up his usual run with his wife, Beth.
We are stunned and miss him horribly.
August 26th, 1949 – May 24th, 2019
Words can not describe our loss. Bob passed away May 24th 2019, after a run with his wife, Beth, at the cabin. This was a sudden and entirely unexpected departure from life.
Bob lived with joie de vivre, tenacity and unshakable faith in his family.
We put together a word cloud that likely needs no explanation:
Shakespeare and Tolkien, Kenneth Grahame,
coffee barista, auto mechanic, beekeeper,
cross country road tripper/mover,
breaker of things, and fixer upper even better of same things.
Master of multiple “sonuvabitch” jobs [Ask us about the sunovabitch rating system…it’s great].
Hot sauce connoisseur, teacher, granddad-dog snuggler,
patient large-mouth bass whisperer, head chef and sous chef, editor.
Small and large appliance repairman,
financial guru, roof ice chipper. Tomato farmer.
HVAC, variable-speed drive, and thermostat elocutionist.
Outgoing and approachable volunteer task-master. Chief soigneur, ski race cheer team.
Dapper. Supportive. Dedicated sweetheart.
Bob was the ultimate appreciator: of his wife’s laughter, a fire in the fireplace, roast or stew cooking, a hike in the woods or a project to work on. He was up for anything, and shared his life, time and experience with an inviting mix of nostalgia and history. Clever, curious and tenacious, he never gave up on any project…be it the ultimate dry-rub rib recipe or a gadget that needed an attitude adjustment/love. He made everyone around him feel important, valued, and heard. He was such a valued partner, amazing husband and father. He tried his damndest in any and every relationship.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Beth, daughters and sons-in-law, Laurel and Joe, and Ali and Lincoln. His sister-in-law Annie and nephew John (along with Erika and their son Jasper) hold on to his memory in Bemidji and niece Leann carries him in southern Oregon. His siblings, Carrie (and Colin), Carl (along with Kou, Sho, Naomi, and Yukino) and Steve also survive him, scattered across the US and internationally.
And his cat, Cricket, who has no understanding why her main zoom groomer has left her. There is also a bastard of a Suzuki motorcycle that hasn’t run since … a previous century.
We laugh in his honor from the highest mountains of Utah to the lanais of Maui, across the Pacific in Japan and in the stark desert of Arizona. We hold our love and our lapdogs and lapcats for him in Ashland, Oregon. And we paddle into the sunset across the lakes of Minnesota in perpetual memory.
Per his wishes, we will not be having a funeral or memorial service; please add a memory or celebration message to his memorial page:
bobsundberg.forevermissed.com
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to one of the following organizations Bob held in high regard, or to an organization of your choice that you feel celebrates his life:
Three Rivers Park District: https://www.threeriversparks.org/page/donations
University of Minnesota Bee Lab: https://www.beelab.umn.edu/home/giving
Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota: https://www.bgcmn.org/donate-online/
Freshwater Society: https://freshwater.org/donate/
Tributes
Leave a tributeJim and Sara Kircher
I’ve know Bob for 30 years and it has been my pleasure to interact with him in many different roles and capacities over those decades.
We had just about every kind of business relationship imaginable. Initially, I was his customer—we worked side-by-side on utility funded programs with Bob representing Honeywell. We served with another dozen subject-matter experts as advisors to a government-funded research project. I worked for Bob as a consultant. After he retired from Honeywell, I hired Bob as a consultant on a major HVAC efficiency initiative that had been directed by the California Public Utilities Commission and funded by the California investor-owned utilities.
Over that span of time, he proved to be knowledgeable, adept, funny, honest, unafraid to express his opinion, willing to take on challenges no one had ever faced before, passionate about anything in which he was involved, a grateful cancer survivor, a loving husband, a proud dad, and a Hawaii lover (something we shared). In addition, he was an outdoorsman, handy around the house, and a proud Minnesotan (three things we didn’t share). Above all, Bob was fiercely loyal to family, friends, and colleagues.
When it comes right down to it, I loved Bob. Love isn’t a verb frequently employed by business buddies to describe their relationships, but I can’t think of a better term to explain how I feel about my dear friend.
Love you Beth...Love you "Uncle Bob".
Leave a Tribute
Jim and Sara Kircher