Melodena (Dean) Sandberg

MELODENA MARIE (DEAN) SANDBERG STAR VALLEY, WY -- Melodena Marie Baker Sandberg, 98, died March 26, 2002, at the Star Valley Care Center in Afton, Wyoming. Melodena was born in Madison, South Dakota, on October 10, 1903, to Tillie and William Baker, the fifth of eleven children. She was baptized and confirmed in the Methodist faith. She grew up in Madison where as a youth she excelled in sports. She lived and worked in Rapid City, S.D. and Minneapolis, MN, where she met and married George Walter Sandberg in 1934. They had one child, George William Sandberg, in 1935. When World War II began, she left her homemaker role and worked in defense plants for the duration of the war. After the war she worked in the clothing industry, serving in later years as a union steward until she and her husband, a postmaster in Minneapolis, retired in 1957. Upon retirement, she and her husband moved to Northern Minnesota where they enjoyed lake-side living until 1977, when due to her husband's failing health they relocated to a more urban setting, in the Modesto, California area, close to her sisters and brothers. In 1983 they moved to Chestertown, Maryland, to be near their son and his family. Her husband died in 1985. She moved to California in 1993 to be a companion and caregiver to an older sister, Loretta Forsman, in Hemet, California at the SunWest Retirement Center. In 1995 they moved to the Lincoln Court Retirement Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and shared an apartment until Loretta's death in 1999. Melodena then moved to Thayne, Wyoming, to be with her son and family until December, 2001, when declining health necessitated a move to the Star Valley Care Center. Dean was the organizer and mainstay of the Jack Pine Savages, a social club she helped establish upon her retirement to Northern Minnesota. She will be remembered by those who knew her as energetic, friendly, and helpful to a person or a cause. She lived a full and productive life and enjoyed good health until her last days. Surviving are:Son: George William (Suzanne Marie) Sandberg, Thayne, WYSister: Elizabeth Betty Silviera, Modesto, CAGranddaughter: Patricia Ann (Chris) Gavin, Dallas, TXGrandson: Forrest Lee (Sandra) SandbergGreat Grandchildren: Christopher and Katherine, of Dallas, TX; Nicole, Daniel and Tabitha, of Jackson, WY; and four nieces and four nephews.Melodena was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, five brothers and four sisters. Burial will be in St. Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery. Rather than flowers, the family would prefer a memorial contribution to the National Office of the ALS Association, 27001 Agoura Rd., Suite 150, Calabasas Hills, CA 91301-5104. ALS ?Lou Gehrig?s Disease? is an insidious disease that often strikes it?s victims in the prime of life. Local arrangements are under the direction of Wood Funeral Home.