Sandra Bailey Gardebring Ogren

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Ogren, Sandra Bailey Gardebring Say goodbye to a wonderful woman! Sandra Sue Bailey Gardebring Ogren died at home in San Luis Obispo, California this past Tuesday morning, in the arms of her loving family. Sandra was 63 years old. She was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, the daughter of Viola Sauter Bailey and Jack Bailey. Though an only child, she grew up surrounded by a large group of loving cousins, aunts and uncles. Sandee was one of life's more complete people. She was a brilliant, accomplished professional, and was more importantly an exceptionally kind, loving, generous and fun person. She had a booming laugh, and never took herself too seriously. Her daughter Shana loved to tease Sandee about her attendance at charm school as a child, and Sandra was indeed a charming lass. After studying at Luther College in Iowa, Sandee worked briefly as a reporter for the Bismarck Tribune newspaper before attending law school at the University of Minnesota. She had a rich variety of jobs over the course of her career: attorney with the Minnesota Attorney General's office; Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Director of Enforcement for the Chicago office of the federal Environmental Protection Agency; Chair of the Minnesota Metropolitan Council; Commissioner of the Minnesota Human Services Department; Minnesota Appellate Court Judge; Minnesota Supreme Court Judge; Vice President for University Relations at the University of Minnesota; and, finally, Vice President for Advancement at California Polytechnic University of San Luis Obispo. Sandee's father Jack was fond of saying that, while she was a bright girl, she seemed to have a hard time holding down a job. She loved hard, challenging work, and felt strongly that public service offered opportunities to make our community a better place. Sandra was once asked to list her ten rules to live by. Here they are, some of them more aspirational than realistic: 1. Don't be a jackass 2. Listen more than you talk 3. Find time in every day to reach out to someone 4. Always: Please - and - Thank You 5. You can't over-communicate important ideas 6. Don't eat at your desk or in your car 7. You don't have to be at every meeting 8. You can accomplish a lot more if you don't care who gets the credit 9. Tell the people you love that you love them 10. Everything does not have to match Sandee is survived by her husband, Paul Ogren, and her step children, Samuel and Shana. They are amazingly lucky to have had her in their lives. Sandee is also survived by a large crew of cousins, in-laws and friends, all of whom knew her as a joyous presence in their lives. Rather than sending flowers, Sandra would like you to go out of your way to help someone who is hungry, scared, or who simply needs a friend. Her California celebration service will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, August 7th at the Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in San Luis Obispo. A Minnesota celebration of her life will be scheduled shortly.

Published on July 25, 2010