May 12, 1958 – March 1, 2023
Trygve Ren Sandberg, 64, of Norwalk, CT died March 1, 2023 at Norwalk Hospital after a short illness. Tryg was born on May 12, 1958 in Danbury CT. He was the first-born child of Trygve Jarl Sandberg and Margaret (Peggy) Fuller Sandberg. He lived in Newtown, CT for a short time before moving to Peggy’s home town of Ottawa Hills, OH. Tryg grew up in Toledo graduating from the Ottawa Hills High School in 1976.
One of Tryg’s great passions in life was skiing. As a child his family took ski vacations to Colorado and Utah. Tryg chose to attend Fort Lewis College in Colorado because of its proximity to skiing. He then transferred to his alma mater, University of Utah, where he was a member of the ski team and Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After college, Tryg stayed in Park City, UT skiing as much, as often, and as fast as possible. He made lifelong friends in the area.
If a person is given 9 lives, Tryg had 10. At the age of 30, he broke his neck and was paralyzed. He overcame the paralysis, eventually attaining full functionality which attests to his resiliency and determination. However, the accident left him with ancillary pain which he battled for the rest of his life.
In 1990, Tryg met Suzy Shore who was in Park City on a ski vacation. Before deciding if the relationship was a keeper, Tryg took her to High Rustler at Alta to see if she could ski (she could). Ten months later they married in Bedford, NY and went on to live in New York City for five years. Tryg was fond of saying NYC was like Park City without the slopes. In 1995, Tryg and Suzy started their family with the birth of twins, Trygve and Charlotte. They moved to Tryg’s father’s childhood home in the beach area of Fairfield, CT. Twenty months later, they welcomed their youngest son, Sig. Both boys were name after Tryg and Suzy’s fathers, Trygve Sandberg and Sig Shore.
Once a father in Fairfield, Tryg was active and involved. He coached and/or supported his kids in football and lacrosse at Sherman/Tomlinson/Ludlowe, Wakeman, and Pop Warner. Suzy and Tryg passed their love of skiing on to their children during weekends at Bromley in Peru, VT. He was supportive and loving to virtually all the kids’ friends who visited the house and remained close to most until he died. After 30 years in the beach area of Fairfield, having experienced multiple hurricanes, rising FEMA costs and little desire to lift the house, they moved to higher ground in Norwalk, CT. The Fairfield house that had been in the Sandberg family for 81 years that four generations of Trygve Sandbergs had lived in was torn down.
Another great passion of Tryg’s was fishing. He and his brother, Fred, spent many an hour together on the water in pursuit of announcing, “Fish on!” Some of his favorite fishing spots were Nantucket, Cape Cod, and, most recently, Vero Beach.
If people are defined by their accomplishments, Tryg’s may have been less conventional, but remarkable, nonetheless. He lived life asking for forgiveness, not permission – and mostly received it. Tryg stayed connected and interested in people’s lives, he was a loyal friend and a good listener. His retention of knowledge over time was remarkable and always astounded those who knew him. There were few subjects he didn’t know about which was a testament to his curiosity, but he was also able to apply his knowledge. This made him a passionate “tinkerer” with a project, or two, always at hand. It often seemed there was nothing he couldn’t fix nor fire he couldn’t extinguish – there were a few of those including himself one time (he was ok). He was a one-of-a-kind individual with a larger-than-life persona. His sense of adventure and humor, his exuberance and curiosity, his bright smile and unfailingly good heart are what made Tryg special.
Tryg leaves behind his wife Suzy, 3 children — daughter Charlotte Ren, and sons Trygve Sig and Sig Oliver – sister Isabelle Sandberg Skoe, 2 brothers — Fred Fuller (Margaret) and Rolf Ren – a niece, Phoebe Grace, and 4 nephews – Ren William, Rolf John, Charlie Trygve, and Taylor (Sam), a great nephew Dylan, and an Uncle Rolf. He is preceded in death by his parents Trygve Jarl and Peggy Fuller.
Two Celebration of Life ceremonies are planned – one in Park City, UT and one in Fairfield, CT (date TBD).