Lawrence “Dale” Sandbak July 22, 1934 – February 7, 2023
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Lawrence Dale Sandbak, on Feb. 7, 2023 at the age of 88. Even while wanting to fight the fast growing cancer, he died peacefully surrounded by his family around his hospital bedside. A loving husband, Dad, “Papa”, and friend, Dale leaves behind Shirley, his wife of 68 years, daughter Holly Zaccone (husband Dana), son Young Sandbak (wife Brenda Wilken) and four grandchildren Kalyn Sandbak, Dylan Sandbak, Shayley Zaccone, and Skyler Zaccone. He was predeceased by his sister Elaine Swartz and brother Lyle Sandbak.
Dale was born on July 22, 1934 in Billings, Montana to parents Hans “Chase” and Elsie Nelson Sandbak. The Sandbak home was the farm in Broadview, Montana where Dale’s grandfather homesteaded in 1909. Dale attended school in Broadview, skipping one grade in primary school since he would have been the only student in his grade. He eventually transferred to Billings Senior High, graduating in 1951. After graduation, Dale returned to Broadview to work on his uncle’s farm. While there, he was encouraged to study diesel mechanics at Lindsey-Hopkins Technical College in Florida. Once back in Montana, he met Shirley Martin of Billings and they were married in December 1954. Shortly after they wed, Dale chose to explore Engineering at Montana State University in Bozeman, completing his BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1960 while his wife, Shirley, worked to support them.
Upon graduation from MSU Bozeman, Dale accepted an engineering position with the Army Corps of Engineers, his first assignment taking them to Denver, Colorado where he and Shirley lived in nearby Aurora. Soon they were relocated to Omaha, Nebraska where Dale continued to work as a Mechanical Engineer. While in Omaha, their first child Holly was born across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa in July 1961. The young family was then moved to Pierre, South Dakota for a short stint at the Oahe Dam and then on to Colorado Springs, Colorado early in 1962. While living in Colorado Springs, Dale was an engineer at NORAD, inspecting many aspects of the construction deep inside Cheyenne Mountain for the next 3 and a half years. Once again, the family was uprooted in mid 1965 to take a position in Great Falls, Montana. For the next year and a half, Dale worked on the Minuteman missile silos as a Mechanical Engineer. Although back in Montana, Dale was ever aware of opportunity to advance in his field. In the Fall of 1966, an opportunity for a position in California came his way, so they pulled up stakes and headed to Vallejo and the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for a position as a general engineer. After spending a month in a hotel in Vallejo, they moved into a new home in north Napa, the house where Shirley continues to reside. In 1968 their second child Young was born. For 27 years, Dale worked in the Public Works Office, rising to Head of the Public Works Dept. in the early 1980s. In 1993, as the shipyard was approaching decommissioning, Dale retired, accumulating 33 years of government service.
Dale enjoyed working at Mare Island. His responsibilities in Public Works ranged the spectrum from general engineering, to energy supply and consumption, and finally supervisory. His favorite responsibility was the many recruiting trips he made back to his alma mater MSU Bozeman. Another part of his job included travel for various conferences. This took him to places around the nation, such as: Washington D.C.; Charleston, SC; Port Hueneme, CA; Norfolk, VA; Philadelphia, PA; Portsmouth, NH; Puget Sound, WA; Louisville, KY; and many other locations. Some of Dale’s proudest moments include participation in the contract planning of the building of the Mare Island Causeway Bridge in 1980, a replacement for the original bridge built in 1919 and upgraded in 1935, and having his name on the plaque listing the names of the key people involved in constructing Building 117 (North Waterfront Work Facility). Every time he ventured back to the base, he would take whoever was with him over to Building 117 and show his name on the plaque. A very proud moment indeed.
While working at Mare Island, Dale played a lot of golf and was part of the Channel Club there on the Island. His love of golf continued throughout his retirement. He had the opportunity to volunteer as a Marshall at the Safeway Open held at Silverado Country Club for many years. Dale also loved to bowl and did so regularly on the Bel-Nap league in Napa where he created many friendships and after retirement on the SIRS league as well. Dale joined the SIRS branch 105 in the mid 1990s and remained an active member for the duration of his life. He was Little SIR in 2002 and Big SIR in 2003, and Golf Chairman for Branch 105 for many years. He enjoyed the monthly banquets and general comradery of the SIRS membership. Dale loved to travel and enjoyed several cruises to Mexico, Alaska, and the Caribbean. He also enjoyed several trips with his family to the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai, Oahu, and Maui and made lots of trips to visit loved ones in Billings and Broadview Montana. Dale was also committed to maintaining his health and mobility with his cardiac exercise group that met the last 20 plus years 3 days a week.
Dale was a dedicated husband and Dad and was the patriarch of the family. He supported his wife’s passion for singing with the Sweet Adelines for over 45 years. He was always available to help his children with their life needs, whether it was helping his daughter with her business or going to almost all of his son’s band gigs where he often helped carry his drum sets. He was a loving and attentive “Papa” to his grandchildren, always eager to babysit or support them in all their activities. He was a big fan of the San Francisco Forty Niners and the San Francisco Giants, attending many games and World Series events with his family.
Dale was extremely kind and generous and his patience was unparalleled. His contagious smile is remembered by all who knew him. He is also well remembered and admired by family and friends in Broadview and Billings, Montana. Throughout his life, Dale made many friends due to his positive nature, generous smile, and willingness to help out where needed. We miss him dearly and the world is a little darker without his glowing smile.
A Memorial Service will be held May 6th at 2pm at the Napa Methodist Church, 625 Randolph Street, Napa. A reception will follow. Come share your memories and anecdotes of Dale.
If you would like to make a donation in memory of Dale Sandbak to the American Cancer Society, please go to donate.cancer.org
Or to support our American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life Team, go to http://main.acsevents.org/goto/DaleSandbak
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