Thor Sjostrand

Thor Arthur Sjostrand

Our grief is great for the passing of our beloved, Thor Arthur Sjostrand, who was born on February 15, 1975 and died July 5, 2014. Devoted husband of wife, Jill, adoring father of Ethan and Connor, loving son of Margaret and son-in-law of Julie, respected brother-in-law of Anne, Matt, Mark and Alice, he was also a special nephew of uncles Roy, Jim, aunts Nikki, Bess, and Kay, Godson of Christine and Godbrother of Bryan. Thor was also the youngest of a multitude of doting cousins, and true friends of many. He is predeceased by father, Thor Helmer Sjostrand, father-in-law, Steve Hitchcock, aunts Lilla, Charlotte and Mary, uncles George, Byron, Bill, Andy, and cousins Rita, Richard and Mark.

Thor was born in San Francisco and attended St. Luke's preschool and Cathedral School for Boys where he sang in the choir of men and boys. While The Branson School in Marin County allowed Thor to increase his academic and social skills, he especially enjoyed the camaraderie of cheerful and loyal classmates. At an early age, Thor joined the Olympic Club where he developed an interest in sports including soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming, golf and especially tennis. Another great influence on Thor was his involvement with Troop 14 of the San Francisco Boy Scouts. During his tenure with them, Thor served as Senior Patrol Leader, was chosen as Honor Scout, and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. A diligent and dedicated participant, Thor was commended for his positive and strong guidance.

Thor's choice of higher education was the University of California at San Diego, where he graduated from Revelle College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science. There, he continued his leadership capabilities by serving as President of Alpha Kappa Psi, Nu Xi Chapter, a professional business fraternity. As pledge class president, he was fondly known as "Mr. CEO" because of his ambition to succeed in business. For his diligence and in appreciation of the concern and guidance he offered members, Thor received the fraternity's Bronze Distinguished Award for setting an exceptional example in the area of professionalism.

After moving back to San Francisco, Thor joined Fisher Investments, a highly regarded private client investment group. From December 9th, 1998, he held several important positions in the firm, most recently as group Vice President of Marketing. As always, Thor was a hardworking, committed participant, who led by example. He thoroughly appreciated being part of the Fisher management team.

However, the greatest benefit Thor received from his employment was meeting Jill Hitchcock, an intelligent, beautiful, and competent young woman whose personality complemented his own. On August 5, 2006, Jill and he were married in La Jolla, California. They were a perfect pair, happily looking out onto life together. Subsequently, they had two beautiful sons, Ethan, age five and Connor almost three years old, who bring great joy to everyone. Thor embraced the role of father with total commitment, enthusiasm and delight.

Even though Thor had achieved recognition in his professional life, he will mostly be remembered for his unique personal attributes. Thor had a magnetic personality and attracted people from all walks of life. Everyone wanted to be in his presence. Since Thor was only ten years old when his father died, and because he was the youngest of many cousins, he was protected and adored by both his father's Swedish family members as well as his mother's Greek relatives. In addition to adult friend and surrogate stepfather, Sarge Fox, others quickly became part-time mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters to Thor. These included, among many, the Morf, McNear, Moakley, Woo, and Byrnes families.

Always positive, accepting, and looking out for the needs of others; listening, advising, and helping to solve problems, Thor possessed a wisdom and sense of justice unusual for his age. It was not uncommon for Thor to be profusely thanked for changing a friend's life or for us to realize that he brought out the best in everyone.

Thor's was a truly beautiful life filled with abundant love from all, an excellent education, dedication to family, friends and career, places seen, and happy times experienced. He had a lot of joy in his life and gave a lot of joy in his life.

Our comfort and hearts go out to his wife, Jill, her mother, Julie, sister Anne and husband, Matt, brother Mark and wife, Alice, and dear friends Stephanie and Tina, who kept the Sjostrand household together this past year. It is impossible to express enough gratitude for Jill, who was constantly at Thor's side from the beginning of his diagnosis. Together, Jill and Thor showed extraordinary perseverance, strength, dignity, and courage through difficult treatment and the frustration of setbacks.

Our sincere appreciation is also for the many friends and their acquaintances who, along with family, constituted what we called, "Thor's Army". Their constant encouragement and prayers were a blessing. Finally, we want to thank the doctors and nurses at Stanford Medical Center who used all their knowledge and skill to extend Thor's life.

Remembering his sparkle of eye and vitality of step, Thor's legacy of honesty, integrity, justice, virtue and good humor will endure. He will be forever loved, missed, and never forgotten.

Donations in Thor's honor can be made to "Be the Match" a national bone marrow registry, or to the The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.