Lawrence W. Engdahl

1935 - 2015

Lawrence Wilson Engdahl, 05/03/1935 - 5/16/2015 Bethel, Maine Creative thinker, engineer, craftsman, designer, artist, sailor, fisherman, gardener, intellectually curious and engaged, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend. Lawrence "Larry" Engdahl led a full and generous life, giving his time and creative energy to take care of the people and places he loved most. A life-long New Englander, he loved the mountains, ocean, fishing ponds, gardens and birds - and loved to chronicle the landscape around him with his sketch book, paints, and camera. Larry was also a devoted and loyal life-long Boston sports fan. Above all else, he loved and valued his family - always putting them first. Larry was born in Boston on May 3, 1935 to Lawrence Kenneth and Janette Wilson Engdahl. He graduated from Milton High School in 1952, and earned his BS and Masters Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University. During his professional career Larry worked as a mechanical engineer helping to design medical imaging technology, fiber optics communications and defense systems. He was proud to have been part of a team that developed a satellite now on display in the Smithsonian. Larry also taught undergraduate courses in mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a visiting lecturer. And as an inventor, Larry held numerous corporate and individual patents. Larry is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marlene Etienne Engdahl, and their four children: Dianne Engdahl Stilley (Ronald), Suzanne Engdahl Upton (Joseph), Laurie Wilson Engdahl (Richard Meyer) and Richard Lawrence Engdahl. Larry was also "Papa" to four grandchildren - Sam, Annie & Eliza Upton and Spencer Meyer - for whom he built creative toys and cheered enthusiastically from the sidelines. Larry is also survived by his sister Marion Hardesty, and was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John Engdahl. Larry gave his time generously to support the Church communities where he lived. He served on the Vestry at both Trinity Episcopal Church (Canton, MA) and St. John's Episcopal Church (Guilford, CT), and was an active member of the Congo Craftsmen in Bethel. Larry also served on the Bethel Planning Board and was a member of the Bethel Rotary Club, where he was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow. From the products and solutions he engineered, the loving care he extended to his family and friends, to the benches and picnic tables he helped design and build for local camps, Larry Engdahl left this world a better place. He will be dearly missed. A memorial service to celebrate Lawrence W. Engdahl's life is scheduled for Saturday, June 6th at 3:00 pm at the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel Maine. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Larry's name and memory to the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel or to the Church's Smile Fund. Tributes and condolences may be shared with his family and friends at www.chandlerfunerals.com