Forest Charles Saemrow

Forest Charles Saemrow, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, friend and member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, went up into the beautiful heavens before the total eclipse of the sun to be with his Lord, Jesus Christ on April 8, 2024, at the age of 92. He was a loving, generous, and supportive father and faithful servant to his Lord. He was beloved and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Forest was born to Paul M. Saemrow and Alma E. Thranow on July 12, 1931 in Faribault, Minnesota. He was an only child and spent his formative years in the small town of Morristown Minnesota, west of Fairbault. He loved spending time with his “Winter” male cousins. Forest loved his father and described him as a community leader but a strict and loving parent in the small town of 500 residents. His father was the local postmaster, calligrapher, and tax assistant for residents and farmers all with the use of his right arm functionally limited as a result of polio as a child. Forest’s mother Alma was a loving, agreeable woman who worked with his dad at the post office during busy holidays. Both of his parents were of strong Lutheran faith and were Sunday School teachers for many years.

He attended Morristown public school and was one of a small class of 12 high school graduates. As a child and into his teen years he loved playing softball, football, baseball and basketball. He enjoyed swimming and fishing at Cannon Dam near the small farming town of Morristown. He attended and graduated Mankato State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Economics. He then enlisted in the army. He completed his basic training at Camp Atterbury in Indiana and was stationed at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs from 1953-1955. It was at that time he courted the love of his life Joelyn A. Partridge. They married on 6/10/56 . In 1956 he first became employed at 3M. Forest enjoyed his long career at 3M. Christmas gifts usually included a care package of Scotch Tape, Post-it notes, VHS tapes and 3M sandpaper. He was known for his hard work, commitment and passion for helping others with their career goals and truly celebrated the success of others.

In 1963 Forest moved his family to Arlington Heights, Il. where he was the Business Manager at Prehler, a subsidiary of 3M in Chicago, until 1979. During these years, he served as an elder for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, where his children were attending school. He and Jo thoroughly enjoyed attending all of their children’s extracurricular activities, sporting events and especially the elaborate Christmas Eve services at St. Peters. He and Jo enjoyed their Chicago years by organizing campouts, playing volleyball and celebrating milestone birthdays with their friends. They had great fun planning elaborate jokes and schemes with their friends. Forest and family also enjoyed Chicago Cubs games and would look forward to baseball season every year. One favorite memory was our Dad taking each of his children out to dinner and then to a Blackhawk hockey game during hockey season. Wow, what a special “Dad time” that was!

The Saemrow family traveled the U.S. and Canada on vacations with their Apache pop-up trailer where the kids would be assigned their set up responsibilities. The family favorite was Ouray Colorado, where the family would jeep the San Juan Mts. most days in a week.

In 1979 Forest moved his family back to St. Paul where they lived in White Bear Lake until 1984, when his Electronic Products Division of 3M relocated him to Austin. Already having a daughter living in Austin, he excitedly pieced together a panoramic picture of the “Oasis” sunset to put up at his 3M hallway office in St.Paul announcing to his co-workers “This is Austin.”

Forest retired from 3M in 1993 and went on to work as Redeemer’s first Business Manager from 1994-1997. He had a passion for his faith and his love of Jesus and was known to pray for God to “use his talents and abilities for HIS glory”.

In the following years, Forest and Jo traveled all over the world. They were Texas Longhorn fans and had season tickets for many UT sports. They were known to follow some games on the road. In his retirement years, he represented Lutheran Hour Ministries by traveling and setting up a display at conventions and writing articles for the newsletter for many years showing his heart and passion for serving the Lord. He and Joelyn were “Petal Pushers” and would travel to Pasadena California for many years to work on the Lutheran Hour Ministries Rose parade float. They enjoyed working long days pasting and gluing flowers, seeds etc. to get the float ready for the judges approval before the parade.

Forest enjoyed an occasional game of golf and was always eager to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with others. He loved spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren playing board games, and showing an authentic interest in other people’s lives.

Forest joined his loving wife of 67 years in heaven, Joelyn Ann Saemrow, with whom he shared many cherished memories and adventures. Their union was a testament to love, loyalty, and unwavering support. Forest was a devoted father is survived by his devoted children, daughter Jodell Johnson (Liberty Hill, Tx.) and husband Denny, daughter Nancy Bengtson (Austin, Tx.) and husband Kyle, son David Saemrow (St. Paul, Mn.) and wife Donna, and daughter Susan Louden (Austin, Tx.) and husband Steve. His love and wisdom will continue to inspire them as they navigate life's journey. He is survived by eight grandchildren Ryan Johnson (and Cassandra), Jessie Priest (and Britnie), Kristin Johnson, Andrew Saemrow, Austin Louden (and Anna), Lauren Lynch (and Reggie), Christopher Bengtson and Erin Saemrow. He is also survived by 3 great grandchildren Laikynn Jo Priest, Mercury Lee Johnson and Kason Clifford Priest. He is preceded by grandchildren, Forest Hayes Louden & Matthew Aaron Bengtson.

Thank you to the caregivers at Westminster Nursing for their care and support for both of our parents.

A private Celebration of Life service for Forest and Joelyn was held on 4/13/2024.

The family requests donations in honor of Forest and Joelyn to be made to Redeemer Lutheran Church Austin, Texas.

Your light will continue to shine in our hearts forever. We will miss you, Dad and Grandpa and VERY MUCH look forward to seeing you in heaven.

A Letter from Your Children

Dear Dad,

We remember the smell of your morning coffee and the two slices of toast you carried off to your car each morning. Your morning dress was always a crisp white shirt, suit, tie, and polished shoes. We remember the smell of Old Spice when you kissed us good-bye, and the sweet scent of your pipe tobacco staying with us as you left through the front door. And as the front door closed our thoughts went the way of after school adventures rather than the challenges, disappointments and success you would have to face each day.

But now some thirty years later, we are the fathers, mothers and breadwinners for our families. And through our daily challenges, disappointments and successes our appreciation for you has increased one hundred times.

Dad, we thank you for all the things sons and daughters take for granted. We thank you for all the emotional and physical security, thank you for the necessities and all the extras, thank you for the beautiful houses you made homes, thank you for the wonderful vacations to Hawaii, the ’76 Olympic Games in Montreal, CA, Washington DC, and Colorado, Colorado, Colorado, where he enjoyed jeeping in the San Juan Mountains with family and friends.

Thank you for being a Father we were proud to introduce to our friends. Thank you for the many school events and banquets we attended together. As David said: “Even though Ernie Banks was sitting on my right, my hero was at my left.” Thank you for being you

As we rekindle our childhood memories with old friends and share childhood stories with new friends, it is clear through comparison that you were a special Father, if not an exceptional one.

So thank you again for all you’ve done. Even though our families couldn’t always be together you are with my children and grandchildren through the values and traditions you’ve instilled in us and who we are today.