Sangster, Gordon W. age 84, of Blaine, MN, passed away peacefully on Sept. 13, 2013, surrounded by family. He was born to the late Clarence and Martha Sangster, April 2, 1929 in Duluth MN. Gordon graduated from Duluth Central High School in 1947. He received degrees in Electrical Engineering and Business from the University of Minnesota in 1952 and an MBA from MIT in 1953. He married Angela Novotny on June 7, 1952 in Minneapolis. After graduating from MIT, Gordon served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956. Gordon was a devoted and loving family man, always ready with a helping hand. He loved nothing more than to gather his clan for a good meal, some good beer and to talk and laugh about the topics of the day. He was both passionate about education and generous with his time, serving on the Fridley school board for 27 years, more than 20 of those years as Chairman. He was honored with a Community Service Award from the Fridley Chamber of Commerce in 1985. He also served on the MN School Board Assoc. from 1981 -1983. June 18, 1991 was declared Gordon Sangster Day in the State of MN. After retiring as VP of Operations from Research, Inc., in 1997, he spent many hours volunteering for SCORE, mentoring small business owners. The Fridley Historical Society inducted Gordon to the Fridley Hall of Fame in 2005. Gordon is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Angela, and his four children: Mary (Scott) Kirby of Burnsville, Bill (Deb) Sangster of Independence, Ann Sangster of Blaine, and Jean (Scott) Nagel of Maple Grove; his brother, Ron and his wife, Eileen, of Duluth, and many much-loved nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his grandchildren, who will miss him greatly, Megan, Katie, Jane, Andrew and Emily. A Memorial Service will be held Monday, Sept. 30, at 11:00 am at McNamara Alumni Center, University of MN, 200 Oak St. SE, Mpls. An engineering scholarship is being established in his name at Fridley High School. Memorials may be sent to the Fridley Education Foundation, 6000 Moore Lake Dr. West, Fridley, MN 55432.
This obituary was originally published in the Star Tribune.
