Former dean remembered in service

By: David Zugnoni

Posted: 4/10/07

Approximately 500 people gathered at Stanford Memorial Church yesterday to celebrate the life and mourn the death of Inger Sagatun-Edwards, former dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts.

The words of Sagatun-Edwards' husband, son, sister, colleagues and friends drew both tears and laughter from the crowd, which stretched to the back wall, where some mourners stood.

"We really got a good profile of who Inger Sagatun-Edwards was," said Barbara J. Conry, who worked with Sagatun-Edwards as associate dean of CASA, and currently serves as acting dean. "As an academician, as well as a wife, and mother and friend. And I think they did a marvelous job of giving the total picture of who this woman was."

Speakers recapped Sagatun-Edwards' life as a young woman who moved from Norway to Southern California, and who later attended Stanford University and earned a doctorate in sociology, as well as her career holding various jobs at California colleges.

Speakers also told various stories, some humorous, of their experiences with Sagatun-Edwards.

Sagatun-Edwards' husband, Leonard Edwards, who met his wife while attending Stanford, told gatherers of the couple's first date, a hike, and revealed details of his marriage proposal.

"I said, 'Will you marry me,' and she said, 'Probably,' " Edwards said, inciting one of several moments of laughter.

University President Don Kassing, who began the remembrances by speaking about his experience working with Sagatun-Edwards, said the service drew people between a deep sadness, "especially if you got to know her," and a celebration of "a great life."

"It was a very touching ceremony," Kassing said. "To get a sense … that she was a wonderful mother and wife; and the engagement she had with her whole family; and the story of her coming here from Norway; and the commitment she made with the university."

Mona Lynch, who succeeded Sagatun-Edwards as chair of the department of justice studies at SJSU, said she was pleased to see a large turnout and that all in attendance were touched.

"She was warm," Lynch said. "She was funny. She was driven, strong. She kept us all in line, but with a smile on her face, and we really all just cared deeply for her - in the department and in the college."

Conry said she is fortunate to have spent a year working with Sagatun-Edwards and watching her operate.

"She was just so dynamic," Conry said. "She was a kind individual who truly understood the human condition - but on the other hand, she was a taskmaster. She knew how to get things done.

"In a relatively short period of time - two years - she has given this college a real uplift, and a vision, and has established several legacies within the university. She was a great role model."