Mr. Sandstad

   I was in the emergency room with my friend, Ellen, when my phone vibrated. It was a text from  Micki. "My dad just passed away at about 10:30 tonight." I bowed my head for a moment. It was over. Her father finally succumbed to the aggressive brain tumor that had been diagnosed maybe two months earlier. I sent a message back. "I'm sorry. But he is at peace and with his Lord." Her response, "And I'm sure he's singing with the heavenly choir already" Mr. Sandstad liked to sing and play guitar. I told her I'd call her later in the morning and turned my attention toward the matter at hand.
   Once we had seen Mac,Ellen's husband, settled in a room freshly diagnosed with the flu and bronchitis, we took Ellen home. Over breakfast I thought hard about something I could do to help Micki and her family. The Sandstads had been friends of the family when I was growing up. Mr. Sandstad was a good man and a gentle soul. Micki was very close with her dad the way I am with mine. There had to be something I could do.
  As I ate the last bites of pancake , it came to me. The Sandstads had moved to South Dakota. That was where Mr. and Mrs. Sandstad were from and had always considered home. All of the children had moved there too. I didn't know if they kept in touch with too many people in southern Minnesota where we had all lived. I thought I could post something on a Facebook group page that was for current and former citizen of that town. Mr. Sandburg had been a teacher and many of the page members had attended or taught at the local high school. I'd get Micki's permission first.
  After a couple hours of rest I sent a message to Micki with my request. I also asked for a couple pictures that I might include to help people remember. Micki liked the idea. and said she would said something. I also sent a message to Lissa, Micki's daughter. She said she had a couple of pictures to send. A while later I had several pictures to choose from. I chose a nice picture of Mr. and Mrs. Sandstad together and another of Mr. Sandstad as he looked when he was teaching.
  It didn't take long for reactions and comments to start. Mr. Sandstad worked in the vocational wing of the high school and taught carpentry. It looked like he was a popular teacher. Several students commented that they had taken classes from him and liked him a lot.  A few had gone into construction as a profession and used what Mr. Sandstad had taught them. One guy wrote about how he remodeled part of his house with the things he'd learned in Mr. Sandstad's class. Another wrote about how Mr. Sandstad had told him he was going to be a leader someday. The man had worked as head of a group for a large corporation. I was amazed and touched by what I read.
  Since Micki and Lissa are not part of the group, I took screenshots of the comments throughout the day and sent them. As much as I appreciated what I read, I knew it would mean so much more to them. Mr. Sandstad had retired when Lissa was a baby. This was a part of her grandfather's life that she knew little about.  Both of them appreciated what I had done.
  Lissa asked me to post the online obituary. There was a link to an online virtual guestbook where messages to the family could be sent. I'm not sure how many took advantage of it.
   Micki sent me a message letting me know when the funeral was. It was in South Dakota and she knew I couldn't attend, but she wanted me to know anyway.  I appreciated it. I kept in touch with her and Lissa over the next few days.
   The day of the funeral, I got a call from Lissa. The funeral was going to be live streamed on Facebook. I could watch. I was so happy. I knew Lissa wanted to attend, but she was far enough along in her pregnancy that couldn't travel. It also meant that I could attend as well. C and I set up his laptop and tuned in. It was the standard Lutheran funeral with two spiritual songs sung by the bluegrass band that Mr. Sandstad had belonged to. After the final prayer the casket was brought out and I got to see all the Sandstads walking behind it.
   I sent a message to Micki,I told her we had watched the streaming and were in the very back row. I think it made her happy to know that her oldest friend was with her even thought it was virtual.
  There one big lesson I learned from this. Sometimes a person who seems rather ordinary is anything but. Mr. Sandstad influenced a lot of lives as a carpentry teacher. I also learned that he worked for the U.S. Postal Service and for Boeing on the west coast before returning to South Dakota to go to teacher's college and begin his career in education. I never knew any of this. You never know where you will find the real heroes.