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In Memory of
Laura Sundin
November 10, 1908 – March 12, 2011
Chúng tôi trân
trọng báo tin: Cụ bà Laura Sundin đã ngủ an trong Chúa ngày
12-03-2011 tại Chico City, CA USA. Hưởng thọ 103 tuổi. Lễ tưởng niệm
và ghi ơn đã được tổ chức tại Loma Linda Vietnamese SDA Church at 711 West
C Street Colton, CA. Những ai biết đến Ông Bà Sundin như là một vị ân nhân yêu dấu, quí
mến, đã tận tình giúp đỡ, lo lắng cho các tín hữu người Việt rất nhiều, về
mặt tinh thần cũng như vật chất trong những ngày đầu khi vừa đặt chân đến
Loma Linda, USA định cư vào năm 1975.
Tín Hữu
Cơ Đốc Phục Lâm tại hải ngoại gởi lời thương tiếc đến cùng gia đình Bà.
Cầu xin Chúa chăm gìn thân thể Bà cho đến ngày Chúa hồi lai.
Tiểu sử bà
Laura Sundin
Laura’s Life Sketch
The Life Sketch of Laura Martina Carlson Sundin
November 10, 1908 – March 12, 2011
Longtime Loma Linda resident Laura Sundin passed to her rest on March 12,
2011 at the close of her day of worship, Saturday, the Bible Sabbath. It
was her lifetime mission to guard and keep this day which begins at
sundown on Friday and closes at sundown on Saturday. This, in itself, was
a fitting tribute to her dedicated service as a pastor’s wife in the
Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) World Church.
A Memorial Service will be held in her honor at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19,
2011 at the Loma Linda Vietnamese SDA Church at 711 West C Street in
Colton, CA.
She was born into a SDA Swedish Evangelist Pastor’s Family on November 10,
1908 in Worcester, Massachusetts to Frank Constantine Carlson and Edla
Marie Osterholm. Her parents immigrated separately, unknown to the other,
from Swedish settlements in Finland in the late 1880’s. They met at an SDA
Evangelist Tent meeting at which Frank was the Tent Master and a
ministerial intern.
Laura was the oldest of 8 children born into this union. She became a
co-parent with her mother to her 7 younger siblings when her father
succumbed to heart complications related to the flu epidemic in l925. He
was 49. Laura was 16 at the time. This family leadership role prepped her
for her future leadership roles as a pastor’s wife, elementary educator,
secretary, dormitory dean, musician, youth leader, Pathfinder leader,
inaugurator and president of several organizations, including the Angeles
Nature Club and the Palomar Nature Club, and founder of several Community
Service units of her church. Over her lifetime she obtained an impressive
résumé of experience. In an official capacity she was most recently
counselor to and the Liaison Coordinator between the Loma Linda University
Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Vietnamese (first) and Cambodian
(later) Refugees.
Laura’s elementary and secondary education took place at schools in
Jamestown and Elmira, New York as well as Austin, Illinois and Worcester,
Massachusetts (the place of her birth.) She spent the first two years of
her secondary school in South Lancaster, Massachusetts and then graduated
from the former Chicago Academy in 1926. She graduated a two-year
elementary teacher training (Normal) Course at Broadview College and
started denominational work in Joliet, Illinois as a teacher. She then
moved on to Hinsdale, Illinois to teach. It was in Illinois at Broadview
College that she met and married, a handsome SDA Swede, Carl Sundin, who
was a ministerial graduate. She was 25. The church immediately sent them
to Eckybeholm, Sweden, where there was an SDA training School. They wanted
him to learn the language(s) of the people that he would work with in
North America. They spent the first two years of their marriage in Sweden.
It was a lovely honeymoon while they studied and visited Swedish
relatives. There they made lifelong friends, since deceased. Laura always
with a heart for children organized the first Swedish Sabbath School,
wrote the first Swedish children’s paper and started their first youth
glee club.
Upon their return to the United States, the Swedish church had been
reduced to a few elderly ladies, and they were reassigned to Minnesota’s
District # 14 consisting of 10 American churches or companies. Here she
became an evangelist’s wife. Their efforts were successful and everyone
loved this caring and creative couple. Laura taught the one room church
school in Brainard, MN where they lived and was loved by the children
because she was the first teacher to go out to play with them at recess.
In the 1940’s she became the Missouri Conference President’s wife when
Carl was asked to fill this position. During this time Laura birthed her
only child, a girl, Sandra Dawn, and organized Dorcas societies throughout
the Conference. Adventist Dorcas Societies were the forerunner of the
international humanitarian agency known today as Adventist Development and
Relief Agency (ADRA). She also began developing her fund raising ability
in various capacities.
By 1950 her husband was asked to join the General Conference (GC),
administrative body, of the World SDA Church as an associate in the Health
Department of the North American Division located in Takoma
Park, MD.
He became the GC representative to the West Coast, initially with an
office at The White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. In 1965 his office
was relocated to Loma Linda University. In 1952 The School of Medicine
graduated a large class of Doctors who had a heart for missions. They
created an organization named Medical Missionaries Incorporated (MMI) of
which Laura was the secretary which she fulfilled until the mid ‘90’s. In
this capacity, she kept the class informed by organizing an annual class
letter and assisted the President in helping to meet many requests for
medical equipment and supplies for the doctors to use in the mission field
where they served in far-flung places. They have honored her by making her
a honorary member of their class known as “The Class of ‘52”.
In 1965 Laura helped design and Carl oversaw the building of their home at
25030 Tulip Ave., Loma Linda. She remained living in this home where she
planned to stay until she died, except for a two-year period when they
resided in Takoma Park, Maryland where Pastor Sundin served with the world
headquarters office of the church.
During the late 60’s she was the President of the volunteers at the Loma
Linda Hospital Pink Ladies. With her fundraising capabilities the Pink
Ladies helped fund the building of the first Helipad at the Hospital.
In the mid-1970’s there was a large influx of Vietnamese war refuges to
the Inland Empire area, including Adventist workers and their families.
While her minister husband Carl supervised the finding of homes and jobs
for the refugees, Laura organized a Sabbath School, helped raise money to
aid the very poor families, and collected furniture, clothing, and other
goods. She faithfully dedicated herself to this ministry for 15 + years
after Carl died in December of 1980. Many Vietnamese and Cambodians who
benefited from her services will be at the Memorial Service Saturday
night.
After her husband died she turned to the Vietnamese young people for her
inspiration. She set up the Laura Sundin Educational Fund at the
University Church and by utilizing her fund raising talents again,
sponsored
a number of Vietnamese and later Cambodian young people through Loma Linda
Academy. She started the first Vietnamese-Cambodian Pathfinder Club,
Sabbath School, and Youth Choir. She held Bible Studies, helped them earn
their Pathfinder honor badges, took the kids camping in the mountains,
swimming at the beach, to museums and had them over on Saturday night to
learn about strawberry shortcake and popcorn and how to play American
“parlor” games. In her 80;s she was still playing “Capture the Flag” at
the park on picnic outings. She wanted them not only to learn the ways of
becoming good Adventists, but of becoming good Americans. She loved them
and they loved her.
In 1997 the Association of Adventist Women honored Mrs. Sundin as “Woman
of the Year in Community Life.”
In 2008 she was honored at a “Home Town Hero” in the annual Loma Linda
Community Parade. At age 100, her house was sold and she moved in with her
daughter, Sandra, and grandson, Phil, in Chico, CA. Her last residence for
8+ months was at Twin Oaks Rehab and Nursing in Chico.
From 1965 to 2011 for 46 years until she died she was a member of the Loma
Linda University Church where she served as an elder and in a variety of
other capacities.
She is survived by myself (age 69), her only child, her two grandsons,
Phil (age 41), who lives with me and Rob (age 42) with his wife,
Stephanie, and her great grandson, Cole, age 4, from Los Angeles; her only
living sibling, her sister, Beatrice Brath Ham who resides in Portland,
OR; relatives by marriage include Paul Sundin, M.D. and his wife Norma
from Texas and Al Sundin from Texas, Mrs. Bob Sundin from Utah, and a host
of nieces and nephews, associates in the ministry of the Seventh-day
Adventist church, members of the School of Medicine "Class of '52", her
"kids" that she sponsored through Loma Linda Academy, and many beloved
friends.
Mừng lễ thượng thọ 100 tuổi của Bà Laura
Sundin
"Laura
Sundin's 100th birthday"
Xin
trân trọng thông báo cùng các con cái Chúa người Việt, tín hữu Cơ Đốc Phục
Lâm, những ai biết đến Ông Bà Sundin như là một vị ân nhân yêu dấu, quí
mến, đã tận tình giúp đỡ, lo lắng cho các tín hữu người Việt rất nhiều, về
mặt tinh thần cũng như vật chất trong những ngày đầu khi vừa đặt chân đến
Loma Linda, USA định cư vào năm 1975 và mãi cho đến những năm gần đây, khi
Bà không còn sức khỏe nữa.
Gia đình Bà thân ái mời quí vị đến dự lễ mừng thượng
thọ 100 tuổi của Bà, được tổ chức ngày 09 tháng 11 tại Fellowship Hall,
University S.D.A.Church. Quí vị có thể gởi thiệp mừng hoặc email , nhớ
đính kèm theo những hình ảnh kỷ niệm chụp chung với Ông Bà nếu có.
Sự hiện diện của chúng ta sẽ mang lại niềm vui
cho gia đình, cũng là dịp để chúng ta tỏ lòng quí mến và biết ơn Bà.
Mọi chi tiết về buổi lễ, xin mời quí vị xem dưới đây:
From: Sandra
Pooley:
sdpooley@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Laura Sundin's 100th Birthday.
Please join us in
celebrating with Laura her 100th birthday.
Date: November 9,
2008
Time: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Where:
Fellowship Hall
University S. D. A. Church
11125 Campus Street
Loma Linda, CA
Assistants available to help you register. and to facilitate your
pictures.
Park in parking structure on Campus Street.
Please NO GIFTS. Thank you.
RSVP required.
Address
all mail to:
Laura Sundin
c/o Sandra Pooley -
Email:
sdpooley@sbcglobal.net
568 Grand Teton Way
Chico, CA 95973
ALL ATTENDEES MUST REGISTER IN THE
COURTYARD BEFORE ENTERING THE PARTY
Program:
10:30 a.m. - Registration begins
11:15 a.m. - Prayer
- Sing Happy Birthday Song
- Sing Revised Happy Birthday Song
- Cake Cutting
11:30 a.m. - Laura's Life CD Initial showing
This will loop-play in two areas throughout the day.
11a.m. - 2 p.m. - Light lunch served
11 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. - Pictures, eat, meet, and greet
1:45 p.m. - Singing together: When We All Get Together,
Abide With Me, God Be With You, Blest Be The Tie That Binds
1:55 p.m. - Response by Laura
2 p.m. - Aaronic Blessing
THE END
Revised Happy Birthday Song (sung to
the same tune)
Happy birthday to you,
To Jesus (Yahshua) be true
Surely God's richest blessings
Have been poured out on you.
*
CÓ MỘT DÒNG SÔNG..
*
DÒNG SÔNG PHƯỚC HẠNH
*
TÌNH PHỤ TỬ
*
TRÁI TIM
TÂM LINH ...
* PHƯỚC CHO NHỮNG KẺ CHẲNG THẤY MÀ TIN !
* NHU MÌ NHƯNG KHÔNG NHU NHƯỢC
* SỨ
ĐIỆP “HÃY ĂN NĂN”
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