Ulf Goransson Hammarskjold

1934 - 2016

Ulf Goransson Hammarskjold

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Ulf Hammarskjöld passed away on Monday, December 19, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale FL. His enduring spirit is carried on by his 4 children (Christian, Philip, Henrik and Elsa), 7 grandchildren (Victoria, Ryan, Alexandra, Brooke, Grace, Luke and Norah), 2 surviving siblings (Jan and Ulla), and an extended family of relations and friends throughout the world and from every walk of life. He kept many old faded pictures of his family in his wallet; he carries their legacy and love to his eternal life.

Ulf was born in Stockholm Sweden in 1934 to Goran and Kerstin Hammarskjöld. He graduated from Svenska Tekniska Institutet in 1955. Always in search of an adventure, he left Sweden and moved to Manchester England and then Detroit Michigan. In 1959 he emigrated to Sao Paulo, Brazil where he worked for International Harvester, Willys Overland and the Panambra Group. He moved back to the United States in 1967 where he became President of Precision Coil Processing in Philadelphia and later founded USSC Group. Ulf retired in 2000, moved to Marco Island FL, where he lived with his wife Maud and daughter Elsa. He remained active in the American Swedish Society of Engineers and Rotary Club. In 2012 he moved back to Sweden where he enjoyed the final years of his life in the neighborhood where he grew up.

We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Ulf during his 82 years. First and foremost, "Never give up." Anyone who has met Ulf had to admire his tenacity and commitment. He held on to convictions and beliefs when everyone else gave up. It was one of the key drivers in his business successes. His favorite saying was "Do something- lead, follow or get out the way." Ulf was a leader, rarely a joiner and never a follower. He was truly his own man. Ulf believed in family and education and was proud that his children were all well and diversely educated.

Ulf loved meeting and interacting with people from all walks of life. In his lifetime, he impacted many of those people in different ways. To quote one of his former employees, "I've known Ulf for 17 years; he was such a nice person. Any of us will all say that Ulf was an awesome guy. He would always walk around, talk to you and ask how you were doing. When I started I was a young 18-year-old kid and scared because this was my first job. Ulf came up to me, like he would to a lot of us, and ask if I was doing ok. He really made me and all of us feel like we were a part of a family. He left you feeling warm inside because we knew he really cared about us. I will forever keep him in my thoughts."

Ulf will be reunited with his father Goran and mother Kerstin when he's buried at the family burial plot in Stockholm. A service will be held in Stockholm on February 3, 2017. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, people make a contribution in his name to the Rotary Club in Marco Island.