Chester Elvin Stromswold, age 87, of Nashua NH and Bellingham MN passed away on Monday, October 19, 2020 at his home in Nashua NH.  Born on March 23, 1933, he was the son of the late Simon and Ella (née Swanson) Stromswold.  He attended a one-room schoolhouse until eighth grade, and then graduated from Faribault High School in MN and Harvard College in Cambridge MA.

Chet worked for many years as an engineer at Sanders Associates in Nashua NH, obtaining several patents before retiring in his mid-50s.  In his retirement, he taught himself Norwegian and Portuguese and read extensively in subjects ranging from medieval literature to evolution to quantum mechanics.  He had a prodigious memory and a disarmingly modest way of revealing deep knowledge on virtually any topic that came up.

An avid amateur genealogist, Chet took many trips to Scandinavia and traced his Norwegian roots back to the 1500s.  He loved camping, hiking and canoeing.  For the last 20 years, he spent half of each year on the family farm in Minnesota tinkering with old farm machinery, visiting with friends, and taking long bike rides.

He was a devoted and beloved husband, father, grandfather and father-in-law, and had a profound impact on everyone who knew him.  His passing leaves an enormous hole in all of our hearts and lives.  He is survived by his three children, Ellen, Karin and Eric, his four grandchildren, Rachel, Hannah, Sophie, and Sandra, and his son-in-law Jacob Feldman.  He was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Joan (née Dormer) Stromswold in 2016.

The family plans to hold a public celebration of Chet's life once COVID restrictions have passed.