Our father, Eric Sund, left this world at the age of 82. Eric was born in Chicago, IL, in 1941, at Little Company of Mary Hospital. He passed away peacefully in his home in Frankfort, IN, surrounded by loved ones.
Eric lived in Chicago, Watersmeet, MI, and Frankfort, IN. He graduated from Morgan Park High School in Chicago and Cornell College in Iowa. He followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps in the family business. Founded in 1919, Ideal Tool & Mfg. was a fixture of precision metalworking and engineering excellence in the Gage Park area of Chicago. Eric was a former president of the Tool & Die Institute of Chicago and instrumental in designing and fabricating the sculpture “Being Born,” created in 1983 and now located in the River North area of Chicago.
He married his loving wife Gloria in 1997, and together they enjoyed retirement, gardening, family, and travel, highlighted by a supersonic flight to Europe on the Concorde, which was always a bucket list item and appealed to both his love of science and aviation.
Eric’s heart belonged in the Northwoods, and he cherished the log home he and Gloria built in Watersmeet, MI, after retiring in 2001. Eric first visited the Northwoods in 1960 and built the first family cabin in 1976 before building a permanent home in Watersmeet, MI in 1997.
His favorite activities included cutting and splitting wood and blowing the snow on his John Deere tractor. Eric worked part-time in Land O’ Lakes, WI at both the Bear Trap Inn and the Red Man Supper Club, as well as helping in a local cabinet shop. He was an accomplished woodworker, and his family will treasure the many chests, tables, and toys he made every year. A voracious reader of the classics and science fiction, his love of books never got in the way of opening day for fishing or enjoying a paddle in the canoe with his dog. All of this is done before enjoying a strong Dry Rob Roy and the view of the lake from the deck. The family get-togethers in the summer at the cabin will remain a tradition for our family for many generations.
He is survived by his wife, Gloria, who cared for him with great passion and tenderness. He is also survived by four children, CAPT Christopher Sund, USN (Ret) (Rhonda), Greg Sund (Kim), Ingrid (Jeff) Dillon, and Sandy (Todd) Pauly, stepchildren Nicole and Bryan, Sisters Chris Slowik, Jean Strom, Heidi (Marty) Sullivan, Julie (Dave) Lewis, and Brothers Jerry (Irma), Sam, and Paul (Sue) Sund. He is blessed with 12 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
Private family services will be held at a later date. Day & Genda Funeral Home in Frankfort is assisting with arrangements. Messages of condolence may be left at www.dayandgenda.com.