Maynard Sandberg

Maynard Sandberg, a

positive force for growth

in the Minot, ND, region

for over fifty years, passed

away peacefully on Oc-

tober 30, 2019, in Minot,

surrounded by family and

friends. He gave leader-

ship and strength to many

institutions whose boards

he served, including

Minot State University.

He was affectionately

known there as the

“assistant athletic

director” and drove a Jeep

he purchased and decorat-ed with “Go Beavers!” slo-

gans. It gained him entry

beyond athletic stadiums.

Mr. Sandberg was about

much more than the

“Beavers” slogan, howev-

er. He brought his ener-

gies, values, beliefs and

financial support to

countless organizations,

notably those in the

Catholic community. And

he was on the cutting

edge with his support up

to the day he died. This

was no sweet old gent be-

ing indulged in late years

by associates on the

boards he served. May-

nard offered leadership,

gave voice to his opinions,

pushed for decisions,

chaired selection commit-tees and led financial

drives that built facilities

and changed the

landscape. He made a

difference.

Maynard Henry Sand-

berg began life as the son

of Arnold and Rose

(Busch) Sandberg, born

May 1, 1931, in

Columbus, North Dakota.

As a child, he attended a

rural school in the

Columbus area before

shifting to Columbus High

School for three years. He

moved with his parents to

Velva and spent his senior

year at Velva High School.

Following graduation, he

enrolled at what then was

known as Minot Teachers

College. During his sopho-

more year, he was called

to active duty with the

North Dakota National

Guard. He served two

years in the Korean War

and, after his honorable

discharge, Maynard re-

turned to Minot State,

earning a Bachelor of Sci-

ence degree in physical

education and business in

1955. He then began a

career in teaching and

coaching at the high

school level in

Starkweather, North

Dakota.

He married Jeanne

Vogel of Granville on De-

cember 27, 1958 at St.

Cecilia’s in Velva. They

lived in Starkweather un-

til 1960, when he left the

teaching field to become

an insurance agent for

Great-West Life with an

office in Devils Lake.

Three years later, he was

appointed district

manager for Great-West

and he moved his office to

Minot where he since had

lived. He and Jeanne were

married for forty years

prior to her death in 1998.

He continued with

Great-West until retiring

in 2005. He held many

positions with the com-

pany, including serving

on the Agents Advisory

Board at Great-West’s

home office in Denver.

He was a member of the

Velva American Legion

Joseph I. Weller Post No.

0039. He was a longtime

member of the Knights of

Columbus and held all of-

fices at the local level. As

a Fourth Degree knight,

he was state master for six

years. His involvement at

Bishop Ryan Catholic

School included member-ship on its corporate,

school, and foundation

boards. He also was a

member and first

president of the Hogan

Society Board of Regents

that supports Bishop

Ryan. He was the first

president of the founda-

tion board of St. Joseph’s

Hospital, and also held

membership on the foun-

dation board for the Sis-

ters of St. Francis whose

mother house is in

Denver. For many years,

he was a member of the

University of Mary Board

of Regents at Bismarck.

Maynard was appointed

to the North Dakota

Supreme Court as

non-lawyer member of the

Supreme Court Disci-

plinary Board and served

four years as an active

board member.

He was a charter

member of the MSU

Board of Regents, continu-ing that involvement until

his death. He served on

and was president of the

university’s foundation

board for many years. He

was active in the school’s

Beaver Booster Club and

attended most of the

games in all of the univer-

sity sports events, driving

his trusty Jeep right up to

the front gate.

Although Maynard and

Jeanne had no children of

their own, they enjoyed

the energy and

enthusiasm of students of

all ages. Maynard felt

keenly about helping stu-

dents and provided finan-

cial support for that pur-

pose. He established en-

dowments and funded

scholarships in his and

his wife’s name at MSU,

U-Mary and Bishop Ryan.

Maynard made many

close and enduring friend-

ships with student ath-

letes and coaches at the

schools he supported,

pushing them to seek

scholarship and en-

couraging them through

word and example to be-

come leaders both on and

off the field. He had a spe-

cial place in his heart for

the MSU Women’s soft-

ball program, traveling to

Arizona, Nevada, Florida,

Alabama, Minnesota, Ne-

braska and Iowa to cheer

them on. He was named

to the Hall of Fame at

both Bishop Ryan High

School and the MSU Ath-

letic Department.

Maynard was a race

horse enthusiast and a

race horse owner. He and

his wife made frequent

trips to the Assiniboia

Downs Race Track at Win-

nipeg, Manitoba, to watch

their horse, Lord of Lon-

don, run. He, Jeanne and

Lord of London graced the

Winners Circle there on

many occasions.

For many years, he was

a member of St. John the

Apostle Catholic Church

in Minot where he headed

the parish lector and com-

mentator program for fif-

teen years. More recently,

he was a member of Our

Lady of Grace Catholic

Church and served on its

church board. He

co-chaired the committee

that oversaw the installa-

tion of the beautiful

stained-glass windows

that adorn Our Lady of

Grace parish. Maynard

served on The Holy Cross

Cemetery Board in Velva

for many years, personally

overseeing the planting of

flowers and construction

of lighting and planters.

He is survived by his

sisters-in-law, Irene Colby

and Joyce Vogel, nieces

and nephews, Paula Col-

by- Fuchs, Michael Colby,

Louis Colby, Kevin Colby,

Teresa Vogel, Maria Vogel

and Steven Vogel; grand-

nieces and grandnephews,

Ryan Fuchs, Erin Bermu-

dez, Jessica (Leevi) Tar-

diff, Allison Colby and

Wyatt Colby. Maynard is

also survived by special

friends and caretakers,

Jon and Karla Backes, Ken

and Delilah Jundt and the

Minot State University

Community. He was pre-

ceded in death by his

wife, his parents and

brothers-in-law, Paul Col-

by and Lt. Col. Paul

Vogel, USAF.

Visitation will be

Thursday, November 7,

2019 from 4:00 p.m. to

7:00 p.m. at Thompson-

Larson Funeral Home,

Minot and on Friday, No-

vember 8, 2019 from 5:00

p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Our

Lady of Grace Catholic

Church, Minot.

Vigil Prayer Service

will be Friday, November

8, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at

Our Lady of Grace Cathol-

ic Church, Minot.

His Mass of Christian

Burial will be Saturday,

November 9, 2019 at

10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of

Grace Catholic Church,

Minot.Following a recep-

tion after the funeral

Mass, burial will be at

Holy Cross Cemetery in

Velva.

In lieu of flowers or

plants, memorials are

preferred to the Bishop

Ryan Catholic School

Foundation, the Minot

State University Founda-

tion, or the University of

Mary Foundation in

Bismarck.

Those wishing to sign

an online guest register

and share memories are

asked to go to

www.thompson

larson.com

Thompson-Larson Fun-

eral Home, Minot, ND