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Summarized by Kent Larsen
LDS French professor Karl Sandberg dies
St Paul MN Pioneer 28Apr00 P2
By Clark Morphew: Staff Writer
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA -- Prominent St. Paul LDS Church member and
professor of French at St. Paul's Macalester College died Wednesday
in St George, Utah of complications from diabetes. Sandberg, who
taught at Duke, the University of Arizona and the University of
Minnesota in addition to 24 years on the faculty of Macalester, was
69.
While Sandberg had taken one or two French classes in high school,
his life-long study of French started with a call to serve in the LDS
Church's French mission in the years following World War II. He left
France following his mission determined to know more about the
language, culture and history of the country.
Sandberg was also known for his love of ideas. His colleague,
Macalester French professor Virginia Schubert says his interests were
diverse, "He loved the movement of ideas, the great sweep of ideas
and using those ideas to explain the relationship between God and
man. He was engaged in the great questions that faced humanity but
not in a doctrinaire way. And always, he taught with a lot of wit and
humor.''
But Schubert adds that Sandberg brought his knowledge back to bear on
the gospel. "Karl felt a need to ponder the gospel of Christ and to
help others ponder it,'' said Steven Pusey, who was Sandberg's Bishop
in St. Paul in the 1970s. "His contributions were great but not
always public. He had a good Christian heart, a noble soul.'' But
Sandberg did share his knowledge with other Mormons, writing several
articles and reviews for Dialogue and participating at the Sunstone
Symposium. His knowledge and teaching skill also made him a popular
teacher among the LDS congregations in St Paul.
Professionaly, Sandberg was known for his textbook "French for
Reading: A Programmed Approach,'' a favorite among graduate students
studying for their final exams. He also wrote "Le Nouveau
Passe-Muraille,'' with Virginia Schubert, and more than 35 other
books and articles.
But throughout his professional success, he didn't neglect his
family. His son David Sandberg says, "We had a remarkable childhood.
Dad was very much involved with the family."
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