Tributes

Marjorie Carlsen Sederstrom Chandler will be remembered for her gracious, friendly and compassionate nature. Bright, charming and quick to laugh, she relished her given title of "Queen of Everything." Marje promoted and set an example of good manners because she believed they show respect for others. Values of social justice, civil rights and equality were instilled early in her life, and Marje lived them every day. She loved her country but was appalled by the current state of our politics. Marjorie/Marje/Mom/Mama/Auntie Marjie/GG - your presence will be missed but your spirit lives in our hearts. Marjorie was born to Clifford Norman Carlsen, Sr., and Ella Marjorie (Sackett Skinner) Carlsen on July 6, 1928, in the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR and joined her brother Clifford Norman Carlsen, Jr. The family lived in the house that summer, while Marje's father maintained the house and gardens and studied for his master's in education. Clifford, Jr., and Marjorie were followed by two sisters, Ella Lee and Joanne Marie. The family lived in small towns in Oregon and Washington as Clifford, Sr., was a teacher and superintendent. Marje was especially fond of her memories of living in the basement of the school house in Juntura, OR where she attended kindergarten, raising a vegetable garden with her mother in Ontario, OR and visiting grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, especially at her mother's family ranch in Jordan Valley, OR, and her father's family farm in Kent, WA. The Carlsens moved to Portland in 1942 and Marjorie and her siblings graduated from Grant High School. She entered Oregon State University in 1947, along with many returning WWII veterans. Due to the abundance of students and too few dorm rooms, Marje lived in a makeshift room behind the flags on the top floor of the Memorial Union. She later moved into the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house. At the beginning of her senior year, not wanting to complete any of the required four years of sewing classes (her nemesis) to finish a home economics degree, Marje transferred to Lewis & Clark College in Portland and graduated with a degree in elementary education in 1951. That fall, she began teaching fourth grade at Beaumont Grade (now Middle) School in northeast Portland. Giving up sewing was the right decision. She found great joy and success in teaching. Marjorie married Robert A. Sederstrom on August 9, 1953, in Portland, and continued teaching before raising their four children. The family moved to Salem in 1960, where Bob started his life insurance business. Sederstroms were avid skiers at Mt. Bachelor and camped many summers at Cultus Lake. Marje and Bob built three houses together and played a mean game of bridge. An amazing cook and baker, Marje hosted family and friends for holidays and special occasions that included good food and music - comfort and gifts of which Marje gave generously. Christmas was celebrated around the Carlsen and Sederstrom families' Scandinavian traditions, with lutefisk, lefse and Swedish meatballs, and homemade cookies, candy and Marje's Oregon State Fair blue-ribbon cinnamon rolls. Gatherings included singing around the piano or campfire, and singing in the car was required. Active participants in their children's school lives and Salem community, Marje and Bob never missed a child's sports event or musical performance. Many of her children's friends affectionately called her "Mom" as Marje provided them unconditional love and support. Friends and even strangers were drawn to her empathic and caring nature, telling her their stories without thought of intrusion or judgment. Marje held leadership roles in PEO and was a member of Assistance League. She helped found the Salem area support branch of Boys & Girls Aid, the agency through which her youngest grandchildren were later adopted. Her family was active at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and Marje later joined St. Paul's Episcopal Church where she was on the Altar Guild. After Bob Sederstrom's sudden death in 1979, Marje built a home in Salem, making every minute decision on its design and construction. In 1988 Marje sold her home and moved to Lake Oswego and within a few months her brother Cliff and sister-in-law Doris Cooper Carlsen invited her to dinner with their good friend Robert W. Chandler, owner and editor of The Bulletin in Bend and the founder of Western Communications with its group of newspapers in Oregon and California. Bob and Marje married October 10, 1988. Marje happily and eagerly moved to Bend, embracing the community that embraced her. Bob and Marje spent six of the first months of their marriage in New York City where Bob was a senior fellow of the Freedom Forum media-studies program at Columbia University. Marje had never lived more than an hour from her parents and family but welcomed the adventure of the big city and her new friends. Following their return to Bend, Marje and Bob enjoyed wonderful times with her four children, spouses and nine grandchildren and Bob's six children, spouses and fourteen grandchildren, hosting large and small events at their Mirror Pond home. Fourth of July was spent with a picnic on the river, watching fireworks presented by The Bulletin and Marje's annual headstand while singing "There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor." Marje and Bob traveled the U.S. and the world for adventure and newspaper business, making many friends along the way. They were supporters of the High Desert Museum and the Oregon Community Foundation and contributed generously to many other state and local organizations. Unique was their gift to Habitat for Humanity: washers and dryers as Marje felt having your own meant you were settled. Sadly, Bob Chandler died on July 12, 1996; twenty-four years and one day before Marjorie's death. Following Bob Chandler's death, Marjorie continued to travel the U.S. and internationally and support her community, including hosting fundraisers at her home for Planned Parenthood Bend Health Center and Basic Rights Oregon. She participated in PEO and the Bend Study Club, organizations that further the education of women which she joined in 1954 and 1990 respectively. Marje was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church. Marjorie celebrated her 92nd birthday on Monday, July 6, 2020, at a singalong in her honor. She and residents and staff inside their senior living home shared cupcakes and spirits and joined a small group of friends and family outside at the party room window. Three days later Marjorie fell and fractured her hip. She chose to forgo surgery and was admitted to Partners in Care Hospice House in Bend, where she received wonderful, compassionate care and loving attention from the staff and family members until her peaceful death early Monday, July 13, 2020. Marje leaves behind her dear sister Ella Lee Ross of Little Rock, AR; her children Susan Cooper of Bend, Sally Sederstrom (Forrest B. Rodgers) of Spokane, WA, Robert A. Sederstrom, Jr., (Karen Sederstrom) of Tigard, OR and Kirt Sederstrom (Jennifer Sederstrom) of Manakin Sabot, VA; her grandchildren and great grandchildren Elizabeth Ella Buffum (Adam Buffum) and their children Theo Wyatt Buffam and Emilia Ella Buffum, Marjorie "Grace" Rodgers, Anna Lee Rodgers and Susan "Ella" Rodgers, Donn Robert Sederstrom (Jessica Borchers), Adam Alan Sederstrom (Alexandra Sederstrom), Ryan Andrew Sederstrom, Katherine Anne Sederstrom and Julia Lynne Sederstrom. She also leaves beloved nieces and nephews and their families: Laura, Jane and Clifford Carlsen, Amy Kohnstamm, Web and Tom Ross, Mary Ella Young, Steve, Mike, Dan and Tim Martinson, Sarah Carpenter, Arne and Erik Jensen, Kris Gilliam, Basevi Adamo and Kavya Pendakur, and chosen family Patty and Dan Stobert. Other survivors include Marje's step-children and their children, Janet Stevens and children Anna and Mary, Peggy & Greg Cushman and children Jeff and Francie, Patsy & Gary Moss and children Laura and Annie, Mary Jean "Cookie" Chandler & David Jordan and children Joseph, Michael and Andrew, Elizabeth "Betsy" McCool and children Alex, Kathleen and Mallory, and Yvette Chandler and children Olivia and Ellen. She was preceded in death by two husbands named Bob, parents Clifford & Ella Carlsen, brother Clifford Carlsen and sister-in-law Doris Cooper Carlsen, sister Joanne and brother-in-law Kenneth Martinson, brother-in-law G. Webster Ross, stepsons Bob Chandler, Jr., and Dan McCool and nieces Karen Vinje and Karil Adamo. A gathering to honor Marjorie will be held later, as she loved a party. The family suggests remembrances to Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette Bend Health Center or the Oregon Community Foundation.

Tributes

Marjorie Carlsen Sederstrom Chandler

July 6, 1928 - July 13, 2020