Chester G. Sears

Chester Grant "Chet" Sears died Feb. 1, 2010 at the age of 95 in his winter home of Mesa, Arizona from complications of a stroke. Mr. Sears spent his summer months at the family cabin in Cushing, Minnesota on the shore of Lake Alexander. Mr. Sears is survived by his children, Patricia Sandvol (Alan), Bismarck, ND; Ginny Williams (Peter Webb), Littleton, Colorado; Thomas Sears (Nadine), St. Joseph, MN, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Mr. Sears was married in 1942 to Trudy Pancratz of Little Falls; she preceded him in death in 1987. He married Ione Kramer June 9, 1990; she survives as well. A visitation with the family will take place at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at St. Mary's Church in Little Falls. The rosary will be said for Chet at 10:30 a.m., followed directly by a memorial mass at 11:00 a.m.. A family sponsored lunch will follow the service. Interment will follow in the spring at Scandia Valley cemetery at Lake Alexander. Chet Sears was a bona fide member of the Greatest Generation, and his spontaneous recollections of his life experiences created family lore. He was a naval officer, a civil engineer, had a role in building the Interstate Highway system, and excelled at dancing, entertaining and golf. Chet Sears was born May 21, 1914 to Reginald and Orella Sears; his father was a commercial wood buyer who provided ash wood for axe handles and shovels. The family traveled from state to state as trees were harvested. He graduated from high school in North Carolina and, although he scaled lumber for a time (at ten cents an hour, six days a week) he was fortunate to be selected for a position on a Coast and Geodetic Survey crew. He worked in West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan as a survey crew rod man, sighting benchmarks for rail beds. The expertise of the survey crew had a huge impression on Chet, and he resolved to become something more than just a laborer, so he saved his crew money and sent it home for a college fund. The National Youth Act provided an avenue to go to college, and he was accepted to the prestigious engineering school at the University of Cincinnati. He worked three jobs to afford to stay at the University, but was experienced enough as a survey technician to set up the practical surveying course on campus. Working six weeks on, then taking six weeks off for study, it took him six years to graduate, with a bachelor of science and a master's in civil engineering. Upon graduating in 1941, he was one of six students selected by the Naval Air Corps as an Ensign, and immediately was posted to the University of Minnesota for an introduction to aeronautical engineering. It was in Minnesota that he met Trudy Claire Pancratz , then a student at Derham Hall at the College of St. Catherine. Chet was posted to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas as a control officer for assembly and repair of Navy fighter planes at Rodd Field. He was actually in Minneapolis on Dec. 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and was immediately ordered back to Corpus Christi. He and Trudy were married a month later, at the base chapel, by the famous Father McGann, the flying naval priest. Early in 1945, Chet, by then a lieutenant commander, was sent to Pearl Harbor to supervise the repair and replenishment of naval warplanes that had been damaged in battle. Though not in combat, Chet traveled by plane to dozens of Pacific islands and atolls to ensure that aircraft were repaired and ready to go back in the air. He also maintained that he improved his golf game, while playing with admirals, and even taught tennis legend Bobby Riggs to play golf, while Riggs reciprocated by teaching Chet tennis. After the Japanese surrendered, Lt. Cmdr. Sears was among the officers on the USS Enterprise in a 27-ship flotilla that went through the Panama Canal and returned thousands of military personnel to U.S. shores at New York City. He mustered out at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago. Chet returned to Trudy and baby daughter Patricia in Minneapolis, and with a referral from his father-in-law, interviewed for a job at St. Paul-based heavy equipment manufacturer Pioneer Engineering, said to be a company with a "big future." Pioneer built rock-crushing and highway paving equipment, and Chet went on the road as a salesman, visiting county road departments, state highway agencies and private contractors. He was a man in the "right place at the right time." Pioneer had the bead on essential equipment to construct the Interstate Highway System, and Chet was a master at securing orders at trade shows, equipment displays and road-building exhibitions. Pioneer prospered and Chet did as well. Family driving vacations always included stops (and many photos) of aggregate crushers and paving devices. Chet spent his entire career, 35 years, at Pioneer, retiring as national sales manager in 1979. The Sears family resided on Cedarwood Road in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, and Chet spent his weekends squiring his daughters Patty and Ginny, accomplished figure skaters, to ice shows and exhibitions. Ginny was also involved in television, dance and theater productions around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and Chet was in the audience on a regular basis. Chet was also an avid booster for his youngest, Tom, to support Benilde football and hockey games. He was a member of the Wayzeta Country Club, and could be seen on the sidelines of Minnesota Viking football games as a team father for the Parkette cheerleaders. He often entertained clients by taking them bird hunting, and to this day Tom has the first shotgun used on his initial pheasant trip to North Dakota. After Trudy's death, Chet occupied his time visiting his children and grandchildren, and always spent the colder months at the Fountain of the Sun condo he'd picked out with Trudy. He played golf at least twice a week until last year. Chet Sears was a unique individual because he remained vital and active until his last few months. He valued family, friendship, and fun, and his children and grandchildren treasure the memories and experiences he created.