Frederick Oscar Santesson, 97, of Foster, died Wednesday. He was born in Garden Home to Benjamin and Sophia Santesson.

He went to school until he was 14, and then went to work on the family farm. He bought his first car, a 1925 Ford Roadster, for $199.00. He then made it into a pick-up to haul the strawberries to market before breakfast. In 1929, he went to work as a carpenter and joined the Carpenter’s Union. Three years later, he went to work at the Bonneville Dam and lived in a bunk house. While there, he built the platform for President Roosevelt’s dedication speech.

In 1938 he married Gladys Burkholder. He started painting state bridges in Coos Bay. In 1940, they moved to Vancouver, Washington where he worked in an Alcoa Aluminum plant during the war. In 1942, Fred went to Kodiak, Alaska to build naval bases. In the evenings, he sanded and refinished hardwood floors. In 1945, Fred bought a Ford Log Truck, and he and Gladys moved to Sweet Home where Fred started in the log truck business.

In his spare time, he loved to dig clams, crab, garden, hunt deer and elk, tinker, and invent. He especially liked spending time with his family. He retired at an early age and he and Gladys spent a lot of time traveling.

Fred is survived by his loving wife, Gladys, two children, Sheryl Santesson of Sweet Home and Darrel and his wife Norma Santesson of Vancouver, WA; five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. He is preceded by one sister and two brothers.

Services will be announced at a future date. Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling arrangements.