Harold W. Sundelius

Harold W. Sundelius, Ph.D., K.N.O., 87, died Sunday, June 17, 2018 at Heartland Health Care Center in Moline.

 Visitation will be Monday, June 25, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home, 3030 7th Avenue in Rock Island. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, June 26, at 10:00 a.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 4501 7th Avenue in Rock Island. Committal with military honors will follow at the Rock Island National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Sundelius-Swanson Scholarship at Augustana College, or to St. John’s Lutheran Church.

Harold was born July 6, 1930, in Escanaba, Mich., to Herbert A. and Caroline Johnson Sundelius. He graduated Magna cum Laude from Augustana College in 1952. He married Charlene Swanson on May 21, 1955.

Upon graduation from Augustana he received a Fulbright Fellowship which enabled him to do graduate study at the University of Oslo in Norway. Upon his return he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Japan and Korea 1953 to 1955. After completing his military service, he resumed his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, where he received his M.S. and Ph.D. He was awarded the C.K. Leith Fellowship and was named a University Fellow.

He joined the U.S. Geological Survey, serving in military geology and Eastern U.S. regional geology from 1959 to 1965. He then joined the faculty of Wittenberg University in Ohio, where he would become associate dean, and professor and chair of geology.

In 1975, he returned to Augustana as professor of geology, vice president and dean of the College, retiring in 1995 as professor emeritus of geology.

A fellow in the Geological Society of America, Harold’s many memberships included the Society of Sigma Xi, Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Society of Economic Geologists, and the Rotary Club of Rock Island.

Harold was very proud of his Swedish heritage, having served as president of the Augustana Historical Society. He was a member of the American Scandinavian Association at Augustana College, and served on the board of the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center. For his leadership in academics and the promotion of ties between the U.S. and Sweden, in 1996 he was accorded the rank of Knight in the Royal Order of the North Star (Kungliga Nordstjärneorden) by His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Harold was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Charlene, on February 28, 2015. Those left to cherish his memory include daughters, Karin Sundelius (Gary Risch) and Kristine Lundine (Brad); grandchildren, Andrew (Cassie) and Matthew Pappas, Sarah, Anna, Elizabeth and Mark Lundine; great-grandson Drew Pappas; and his sister, Lorian Sundelius Swanson. The family would like to extend its profound gratitude to Harold’s long-time caregiver Christine Sanchez, as well as to Marilyn Boen and the staff at Heartland Health Care Center.

Online condolences may be left at wheelanpressly.com.

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