Albi Bystrom Obituary (1924

Al was born November 9, 1924 in Seattle, and died peacefully at home with his loving family by his side on January 23, 2010. Al was naturally handy and had a life-long penchant for making and fixing things. He was generous to a fault in sharing his time, skill, and tools, whether with family, friends, or strangers. The chances were good that if you had something that needed fixing Al either had the tools for the job or knew what you would need. On that rare occasion when he didn't know how to fix something from personal experience, you'd find the solution together. For years, McLendon's Hardware was his home away from home. He grew up in Ballard and graduated from Ballard High School in 1943. He served as a communications maintenance specialist in the Navy from 1943-46, including service aboard the light cruiser USS Tucson in the central and southwest Pacific. After mustering out, he attended the University of Washington, graduating with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1950. Al joined the Boeing Airplane Company after graduationand worked as an electrical engineer and eventually an engineering manager with special emphasis on communications and instrumentation. His work at Boeing included security systems for the Minuteman Missile silos and extensive involvement in the E-6 program (helical antennas for air-to-submarine communications). He retired in 1987 after 37 years with Boeing. When the kids were young, there was camping on Whidbey Island. But eventually that handy-man streak led to building a cabin on Mason Lake. Starting with tents, this eventually led to a first-class 4-bed, 3-bath domicile, all incrementally designed by Al and constructed by the family. Other interests included skiing, Crystal Mountain the favored destination, with occasional trips to places like Bachelor and Big Mountain, salmon fishing, travel, including trips to Europe and China and cruises through the Panama Canal and across the Atlantic, visits to the casino, and popular science, history, and sports. He was a life-long reader and devoted to any number of magazines, from professional aerospace journals to Popular Science, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. Al is survived by Donna, his wife of 60 years, children Margaret Johanson (Paul), Elaine (Tami Locke), Keith (Debi), and Craig (Karen), grandchildren Eric Johanson, Mara Johanson Seifert (Sean), Chad Bystrom, and Kirsten Bystrom, and siblings Eleanor Bystrom and Arne Bystrom (Valerie). A memorial service will be held at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 3050 California Avenue SW, Seattle, 98116 on Friday, January 29, at 3:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances to St. John's Memorial Fund or the charity of your choice.