Robert Paul Sanford

Robert “Bob” Paul Sanford, 101, of Fergus Falls, formerly of Elbow Lake, passed away on Friday, April 29, 2016, at Minnesota Veteran’s Home in Fergus Falls.

Bob was born in 1915 to Paul and Grace (Godward) Sanford in Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Bob was the grandson of pioneers Jasper and Melva Sanford. Bob’s great grandmother, L. M. (Lurana Marvin) Sanford, was the first person to sign homesteading papers in Grant County.

Bob was intensely interested in sports, hunting, fishing, and trapping. For many years he trapped mink, muskrat, and coyote. He took many hunting and fishing trips. He would sometimes leave home from Thanksgiving to Christmas, living in a tent far north in Canada, hunting moose and caribou. He once brought a whole frozen moose to school for his children’s “show and tell”. He shot his last two deer at age 90, with the handicap of an artificial leg.

Bob was also passionately interested in plants, some for wildlife conservation and others for human consumption. He recorded hobby-planting over 30,000 trees before he quit counting. As early as 1939, Bob started selling nursery stock and later formed Elbow Lake Nursery Company which was responsible for hundreds of shelterbelts around farmsteads. At age 89 Bob wrote that he hoped the work he had done would “nurture and help save our dear earth for future use”.

Sanford Irrigation Co. of Elbow Lake had its origins in the 1920’s when irrigation was used on the family strawberry and vegetable garden. Bob had vivid memories of selling strawberries to chefs on the passenger trains that would stop specifically to purchase the berries. (Strawberry shortcake was Bob’s favorite dessert.) About 1958 Bob ventured into the irrigation business full time, drilling wells and installing various types of irrigation systems throughout west central Minnesota. By the mid-1970’s both his sons joined the business and introduced center pivot irrigation systems to the area. Bob received the Irrigator of the Year award from the Irrigation Association of Minnesota. He was active in the business until 2004, when he was nearly 90, and the business was sold to Amundson Peterson Equipment.
Bob was a life-long member of the Presbyterian Church of Elbow Lake until its closure, serving as a trustee and elder. He graduated from Elbow Lake High School in 1933 where his greatest interest was sports, he especially loved basketball. He went to Macalester College in St. Paul where he also played basketball. In his 90’s he said that one of the highlights of his life was making the final winning basket there, as a freshman, on the varsity team. Bob subsequently transferred to the University of Minnesota where he received a Certificate in Undertaking.

In 1937 Bob married Charlotte Roberts of Elbow Lake and began working for Olson Furniture and Funeral Home. Their children Ruth and Richard “Dick” were born in 1938 and ’39. While working for Olson's Bob started the nursery business. As it grew, he left Olson’s and sold nursery stock across the Dakota's. He and Charlotte built a home in Elbow Lake in 1941 and later a summer home on Ten Mile Lake.

Prior to being in active service during World War II, Bob served in critical civilian positions in the Oakland, Calif., dock yards and on the construction of the Alaskan Highway. He then served in the European campaign as a Surgical Technician with the U. S. Army 195th General Hospital, coming ashore just behind the Normandy invasion. He recalled the blood in the water there all his life.

In 1950 Bob and Charlotte, with his cousin, Bill Goetzinger, and wife, Ruby, drove from Elbow Lake to Mexico City and Acapulco, a very adventurous trip for the time period. Later in the 1950’s two more children were born, Paul and Susan. Bob and Charlotte were married for 72 years, until her death in 2008.

Bob developed many life-long friendships. One of his great gifts was the ability to make new friends as he outlived the others. He was a devoted story and joke teller and enjoyed visiting with people. He was also an avid card player all his life, especially enjoying whist.

In his “retirement”, Bob worked locally as a skunk trapper for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and spent several winters trapping coyotes at the Sanford ranch along the Mexican border in New Mexico.
At 93, Bob moved to the Fergus Falls Veterans’ Home where he and his family very much appreciated the loving and respectful staff and many recreational activities. He especially enjoyed going out for drives and to eat ice cream and Mexican food, which he did until just five days before his death. He recognized all of his children until the end. He had a way of making people he knew feel very special by “lighting up” whenever he saw them, reaching out for a hug and saying “Well, I’ll be jiggered!”.

Survivors are daughter Ruth (Gary) Reetz of Bloomington, sons Richard (Audrey) and Paul of Elbow Lake, daughter Susan of Ten Mile Lake, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Grant County Historical Society and the Elbow Lake Tree Fund (through the City of Elbow Lake).

A story telling and memorial service will be held in the Sanford Room of the Elbow Lake Community Building, Sunday, May 29th at 4:00 PM with visitation at 3:00.