An Unwavering Bond with State

John and Lela Sandfort with their twin sons.

John and Lela Sandfort’s 72 years together essentially started with his four-year service in World War II, as she raised their twin sons with the help of her parents in Ohio.

It culminated with a long, active retirement, as life revolved around church, community service and a long-time affection for bluebirds.

The opportunity to lead the Mechanical Engineering Department brought the Sandforts to South Dakota State in 1958. During their 20 years in Brookings, their sons, John W. and David, graduated from SDSU. John W. majored in political science, David in mechanical engineering. Both were in ROTC and served in Vietnam.

SDSU had a profound impact on the family. Enough so, that it led them to make the university the overwhelming focus of their philanthropic interests.

19802: Dr. Hassan Ghazi (former department head of mechanical engineering), Lela Sandfort, John Sandfort and Ernest Buckley (former dean of the College of Engineering)

Working with the SDSU Foundation’s Gift Planning staff, the Sandforts finalized an agreement that will create an endowment of nearly $3 million to support scholarships in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering. Half will benefit mechanical engineering majors; the other half will support any other student within the college.

“The Sandfort endowment will be among the largest scholarship endowments ever established at SDSU,” said Lucy Forman, the Foundation’s Vice President for Donor Relations.

In a 1989 letter to Keith Jensen, then the executive director of the SDSU Alumni Association, John Sandfort committed to a $700 scholarship for a freshman in mechanical engineering. He mentioned their intent to create an endowment. When they created the twin trusts with the plan to pay a lifetime income to their sons and make SDSU the final beneficiary, John said: “We wanted to establish something that would be perpetual and a help to others.”

John passed away in 2010 at the age of 99. Lela died last year, at age 105. Their son, John W., died in 1996. His estate provided $245,000 for scholarships to students in political science and history.

In a 2004 article, Lela explained their longevity succinctly: “We’re best friends.” John quipped, “The secret is having a tolerant wife.”

2006: Sandforts celebrating Lela’s birthday in Arkansas.

The Sandforts supported that first scholarship — without interruption — for 30 years. Now, through their estate plan, the Sandforts will provide in excess of $100,000 for scholarships annually in perpetuity.

John grew up in Nebraska. He earned his bachelor’s from The Ohio State University, and his master’s from Iowa State University. Lela was born in Ohio and attended business school. Yet it was SDSU that became the source of their ultimate philanthropic plans.

“When my father joined the faculty of SDSU, my parents quickly embraced Brookings and the university as their new home.

Mom and Dad placed a high value on education and understood how people’s lives can be changed for the better if they are given the opportunity.

They felt fortunate to be able to endow these engineering scholarships, and I know they would be happy that deserving students are being helped who might otherwise not have the financial resources to attend college.” – David Sandfort ’66