Emalou Sandsmark

Emalou Bishop Sandsmark died peacefully in her sleep on January 24, the day after her 97th birthday. She is survived by Tim Sandsmark (Linda Hendricks) of Lakewood, Colorado, Joanna Sandsmark of Oconomowoc, and Bill Sandsmark (Jamie) of Coronado, California. She loved her overachieving grandchildren: Emilee, Evan, Brady, Karly, and Kai, as well as great grandchildren Lily and Kiki Bee.

Born in Danville, Illinois (home of Dick Van Dyke and yes, they were friends),she attended Lake Forest College in Illinois and moved to Oconomowoc when she married Art Sandsmark. He was a wonderful man, who also died the day after his birthday. This appears to be a new family tradition.

Emalou never lost the child within and the sense of wonder, excitement, and delight that entailed. On a whim she would announce it was time to have an adventure. She wasn’t talking about hiking in the Himalayas, more like browsing art supplies at Ben Franklin. It may not sound like an adventure, but Emalou made it one. When Joanna was young, they used to put on plays, reading lines, using a flashlight for a spotlight, and pretending to be on Broadway. There was nothing Emalou loved more than live theater.

Her life touched so many in this community, whether it was as a Cub Scout leader, Girl Scout leader, a school nurse at Greenland Elementary or a Sunday school teacher at the Congregational Church. She worked at the Oconomowoc Public Library for over 40 years. In fact, she continued to work for the library as a volunteer after she retired. In the 1970s, she and the children’s librarian began giving puppet shows for the children’s hour. Despite her fame as the voice of Freddy the Frog, she remained humble. When she was in her 90s Emalou thought her voice was no longer strong enough to be a convincing amphibian so she retired again. Her final show was covered by both the local CBS and Fox television stations.

Understanding there were people in Oconomowoc who could not get to the library, she decided to deliver their books. Whether institutions like Shorehaven or individuals, she found a way to take care of as many readers as possible. It’s a good thing she was athletic (tennis, biking and swimming were favorites), because lugging hundreds of books around takes a lot of muscle. It also helped her keep her girlish figure.

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When Tim was a baby, she was out on a winter day with the stroller and witnessed a woman falling through the ice. She immediately parked the stroller, ran to the lake, lay down on the ice and pulled the woman safely out of the freezing water. Librarian, superhero, pretty much the same thing.

For most of her life she lived on Forrest Drive in the Town of Oconomowoc. It is quite possibly the best neighborhood on the planet. It was a fantastic place for her to raise her children and when they left the nest, new families arrived to carry on the tradition. Right next-door to Emalou was the Magic Mansion, famous for their summer porch concerts. To give a helping hand, she hosted the porta potties in her front yard. She planned to put a photo of her and the porta potties on a Christmas card.

And now a little business: there will be a memorial service for her on February 17 from 10 AM to 12 PM at the Chapel at Shorehaven. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Oconomowoc Public library, the UCC/Congregational Church in Oconomowoc, or PBS (channel 10 in Milwaukee). Thank you.