Loss of a Friend
Too Soon Passing – Craig D. Sandgren
by Dr. Charles O'Kelly
The FHL community lost a treasure when, on December 24th last year, Craig D. Sandgren passed away from pancreatic cancer, at the age of 60. Craig was a lifelong participant in and supporter of FHL's teaching and research programs. Through his request that memorials to his life be offered to the FHL Marine Life Endowment Fund, that support continues.
Craig embodied the idea that FHL is more than a "marine" laboratory, for he came to Washington State with bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Minnesota, and set to work on freshwater algae. Egg Lake had no greater friend. He became one of the few people anywhere in the world who could make chrysophyte algae like Dinobryon species dance their life history dances in the laboratory. The body of work that he produced on the patterns of sexual and asexual reproduction in chrysophyte algae, the fine structure of its various stages, and how these patterns are expressed in nature, made him a leader in the field of phytoplankton ecology, as evidenced by his highly-cited 1988 book, Growth and Reproductive Strategies of Freshwater Phytoplankton.
He could hardly ignore the marine algae, of course, and he knew the flora at least as well as the hard-core seaweed stompers. Some of us remember when the road to Botanical Beach was not today's smooth paved road leading to a well-tended provincial park, but a logging track through a clearcut that was draped over sheer ledges, strewn with boulders, and pitted with holes that would swallow a large dog, leaving no trace. Craig, as the teaching assistant for the summer Marine Algae courses in the late 1970s, successfully guided the newbies through this morass. In a low-slung sports car (Datsun 240Z). Without cracking the oil pan.
On the strength of his teaching and research experience at FHL, Craig obtained a tenure-track position at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he remained throughout his career, rising to the rank of Professor and serving five years as department chair. He passed on his love of FHL to his students, returning frequently to teach in the FHL summer program and lead field trips for students from UW-M. In the late 1990s, when the future of teaching in phycology at FHL was in doubt, Craig stepped up and helped ensure that the marine algae remain on FHL's instructional menu.
Craig's friends and students will also remember his love for the outdoors generally – the fishing rod and the hunting rifle were essential components of his travel kit – and of folk music.
Craig's wife Maria and daughter Kirsten survive him.
Donations in memory of Craig can be made to the FHL Marine Life Endowment.