Longtime Coupeville resident Arthur “Art” Strandberg, Jr., age 83, went home to be with the Lord on April 24, 2012, following a courageous eight month battle with acute leukemia. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Shirley I. Strandberg.
Descendant of 19th Century Swedish immigrants who sought their fortune in the Alaska Gold Rush, Art was born in Seattle on Feb. 17, 1929, to Arthur, Sr. and Thelma Strandberg. He was raised in Seattle’s Ballard and Green Lake neighborhoods, and attended West Woodland Elementary, John Marshall Jr. High and Roosevelt High School, graduating in 1947.
At the University of Washington, Art was enrolled in the naval ROTC program and studied engineering before later turning to premedical studies, graduating in 1951. As president of the ATO fraternity his senior year, he met his first wife Jean while attending the national ATO convention in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. They were married and he entered the University of Cincinnati Medical School the following fall, graduating in 1955.
After completing a one-year internship at Cincinnati General Hospital, followed by an additional year of primary care training at Christ Hospital, Art transferred military branches and accepted a commission as captain in the Army. Serving as the only physician at the remote Wildwood Station on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, he solidified his eventual calling in primary care. Though he worked for two years on his return from Alaska as a company physician for Cincinnati’s Proctor and Gamble, the lure of the Pacific Northwest led to a return to his native Seattle in 1961, where he joined Group Health Cooperative.
Still in its formative growth years, Group Health Co-op in 1961 entailed a total of only 60 physicians caring for “about 60,000” patients. Art always spoke very highly of the tight-knit collegial relationship among that group of early Group Health physicians. During subsequent expansion, Art was called upon to lead the medical staffs at newly opening Group Health facilities in Lynnwood (1971) and Everett (early ‘80s). During this time, he became one of the first associate clinical professors for the UW School of Medicine’s family practice preceptorships, and was a favored mentor to many younger Group Health physicians. He retired in 1991 following a rewarding 30-year career as a Group Health family physician, and was an active participant in the Group Health ARMS group (Retired Medical Staff) quarterly meetings.
Over many years, Art pursued his passions in sailing (over time owning three different boats), music (playing piano, harp, soprano and baritone ukulele), yard and garden projects, building a family cabin in the Cascades, and travel (including a year-long tour of the US by RV during a sabbatical in 1986/87). In retirement, he served as a cruise ship physician with Holland America Lines for 14 years, and he and Shirley spent a number of winter seasons in the Palm Desert, Calif., area. Art and Shirley have been residents of Long Point, outside Coupeville, since 1987, building an impressive array of strong friendships among their nearby neighbors, as well as friends in their church communities.
Besides his wife, Shirley, Art is survived by younger brother Robert “Bob”, also of Coupeville; children Eric (Amy), Karen (Mike), Linda and Gayle (Martin); Shirley’s children Gayle, Bob (Eileen), Larry (Deborah) and Sandy (Bob); and 14 grandchildren from their blended families.
All are invited to a “Celebration of Life” service for Art to be held at the Coupeville United Methodist Church, 608 N. Main, Coupeville, on Tuesday, May 22, at 1 p.m. Private family burial will be held prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Art’s honor to the Merle Cancer Care Center at Island General Hospital in Anacortes, WA, 1211 24th St., Anacortes WA 98221. Our sincere thanks go to Dr. Gjerset and all of the Center’s staff for the compassionate care he received these past 2 years, during both the pre-leukemic and leukemic phases of his illness. Friends and family are encouraged to share memories and condolences at www.wallinfuneralhome.com. Arrangements entrusted to Wallin Funeral Home & Cremation, Oak Harbor.
