July 30, 1909-May 9, 2007
Frederick Oscar Santesson, 97, of Sweet Home died on May 9, 2007.
He was born in Garden Home to Benjamin and Sophia Santesson.
He went to school until he was 14 and then went to work on the family farm. He bought his first car, a 1925 Ford Roadster, for $199 and made it into a pickup to haul the strawberries to market before breakfast.
In 1929, he went to work as a carpenter and joined the Carpenters Union. Three years later, he went to work at Bonneville Dam and lived in a bunk house. While there, he built the platform for President Roosevelt’s dedication speech.
In 1938, he married Gladys Burkholder.
He started painting stage bridges in Coos Bay.
In 1940, he and his wife moved to Vancouver, Wash., where he worked in an Alcoa Aluminum plant during the war.
In 1942, he went to Kodiak, Alaska, to build naval bases. In the evening, he sanded and refinished hardwood floors.
In 1945, he bought a Ford log truck and moved to Sweet Home where he started in the log trucking business.
In his spare time, he loved to dig clams, crab, garden, hunt deer and elk, tinker, invent and especially spending time with his family.
He retired at an early age, and he and Mrs. Santesson spent a lot of time traveling.
Mr. Santesson is survived by his wife, Gladys; children, Sheryl Santesson of Sweet Home and Darrel and wife, Norma Santesson, of Vancouver, Wash.; five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by one sister and one brother.