Robert Liljestrand graduated from Hamline University in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science Degree; then took classes at University of Minnesota 1938 while Lyla Kellum was in her final year at Hamline University. In Fall of 1938 he went to Lowell and Woods Hole while Lyla Kellum taught mathematics in Mankato Minnesota. In the spring of 1939 he hitchhiked back to St Paul to marry Lyla May Kellum. His time in Woods Hole started in 1929 where he and his brother Howard worked summers at MBL. He worked every summer in Woods Hole until living there full time with his bride in June/July 1939. He worked as a night watchman, worked in Sam Pond’s instrument laboratory and was a general assistant to the professors and Director of MBL during those periods. He hitch hiked his way back and forth to St Paul and to Lowell and just about anywhere he wanted to go. He formally retired in 1982 at 67 after being disabled by heart disease at age 63 (4 vessel bypass at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati). Despite that he lived an active life as a husband, father, grandfather until age 96 when he died after a short period of heart pump failure. He amazingly had few hospitalizations between age to 63 and 96. These were for hip replacements. His surgeries for bowel cancer took place prior to 1992 when his second son Richard Irving died at age 49 of an overwhelming rapid bowel cancer. He was extremely intelligent, a born teacher (of his 3 sons mostly), a carpenter (built a large wing on his beloved lake cabin on Deer Lake in Wisconsin near St Croix Falls and Centuria), an excellent commercial products researcher (in technical sales for a new ‘wet strength’ resin was on the R&D team that developed paper swim suits). In about 1976 he and Lyla were brought to New York home offices of American Cyanamid Paper Chemical division to be awarded the Golden Oval award for his outstanding work in sales and in product development.

Over his career, he worked at:

Goodwill Industries in Lowell, MA as a Business Manager (1938-1939)
Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA (1929-1943)
Waldorf Paper in St. Paul, MN as a Superintendent, then moved to Technical Sales.(1943-1953)
American Cyanamid Corporation in Technical Sales (1953-1982)

Photograph Gallery

Robert Stratton Liljestrand
(1915-2011)

As a baby in Jordan, NY, 1915

It unknown how soon after Robert’s birth the family left for Chentu China (western China) to work at the Canadian University Medical School. Reportedly the family in 1916 are listed as passengers on a ship sailing from Seatle to Shanghi where they spent a year gathering medical equipmenr to take to West China University in Chentu

With his parents and siblings at age 11 (far right), 1926

The family was in China in 1926. Returning for sabbatical leave in 1929, Harry as Sven Herman, brought all the family to Woods Hole and then to Jordan, New York, where the Hardy extended family all lived. Bob on the far right was 13 in 1929 when the family returned to China and left Bob in Jordan with Aunt Hulda (Cazenovia Seminary-private boarding high school and college Methodist Seminary) and Howard to go to Ohio Wesleyan (Methodist supported) in Delaware (near Columbus).

With Lyla at their apartment in Woods Hole, MA, 1940

The apartment was up over what is now a deli and grocery store. The Eel Pond in the background offers water access to MBL and WHOI. They heated this apartment with their gas cooking stove. Over Bob’s shoulder is the famous ‘bell tower’ of the Catholic ST. Joseph Church. Their apartment in 2025 is being made into a restaurant. This is prime real estate in 2025

With his son Jim, at Glendon Rd, Woods Hole, 1943

Bob also was a Scout Master for a local Woods Hole Troop. In those days they could camp on Ram Island in Great Harbor. Now it is overgrown with dense brush and is uninhabitable due to ticks and dense brush. in 2024 exploring the perimeter there are no shallow landing spots for a rowboat. It is surrounded by harbor currents and 2-3 foot tides.

Robert with Lyla + Helen with his brother Howard, 1969

Howard and Helen Betty traveled from Honolulu about every 3 years to the mainland to visit family. They would take a ship to Los Angeles and a train east to visit family, go to medical meetings, reunions and to buy a new car to drive to each destination.. They traveled with a large number of suitcases in part because of a need to dress up for medical meeting and partly to carry special food as Aunt Betty had a gluten allergy (Celiac Disease?)

10 - Oct 1940

This 1940 Plymouth stayed with Bob until the family purchased a 1949 Nash. Bob hitchhiked wherever he wanted to go. When he worked for MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) he would drive one of the professors to their home in NY state and hitchhike back to Woods Hole.

1939: Robert’s Wedding to Lyla Kellum

With Lyla, 1940

This was likely taken in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. After their wedding in June 1939 they moved to Lowell where Bob had a job at the Goodwill Industries. Bob preferred Woods Hole where he had lived at least part of every year since 1927. They also lived briefly in West Falmouth. No 1940 census entry for the coiuple has been found as of 2025.

With Lyla and baby Jim, 1941

Bob was working at MBL in Sam. Pond’s instrument lab. Sam owned some cottages on Park Street of Gardiner Road .The Liljestrand family stayed in one of these (now gone) during their Sebatial leave from the Mission in Chentu. Bob spent every summer working in Woods Hole when with his older brother Howard until 1944 when Bob and Lyla and Jim and Dick moved to St Paul. Though Bob had registered as a conscientious objector and worked for the a WHOI US Navy project for depth charges (anti submarine warfare). Bob planned that if drafted despite all this it would be best for Lyla and the young boys to be near her parents and siblings in St. Paul, Minnesota.

With Lyla and their boys,
315 Shafer St, Middletown, OH, 1959.

In the fall Jim started Ohio State as premed student (majoring in Math, Philosophy and Chemistry), Dick was a rising Junior at Middletown High (JD Vance’s High School) land Robe (Robert Eric) was a rising junior high school student ar Roosevelt Junior High.

4 - Bob ~1940

9 - Oct 1940

Bob loved his cars and gave them names. This one was Suzy-q. The person next to the car is unknown

16 - Woods Hole ~1928-29

Bob as a teenager

With his son Jim, 1943

With Lyla, 1970s

They were active members at the First Methodist Church of Middletown Ohio. Periodically the church had portraits of all the members.

2 - Bob & Lyla w/James & Richard ~1945

19 - 1931 Utica airport, Bob in his element at the airport this summer “my mechanic in the front of the plane” says he, Hulda (taken by?). Bob was fascinated with planes, admired Charles Lindberg and eventually got to ride in this biplane.

Bob and Lyla rented this house at the top of Glenden Road in Cherry Valley in the Falmouth village of Woods Hole (800 addresses). This house in 2025 is owned by a friend of Amy Liljestrand’s who is a wlell known dancer and musician. Bob in the winter would put his car up on blocks in the basement as it could not handle the slippery winter roads and tires had to be off the ground if not used for a winter season.

Lyla had to travel to Toby Hospital in Wareham to deliver both Jim (1941) and Dick (1943). Bob worked at MBL in Sam Pond’s instrument shop (Glassware etc for the laboratories had to be make by hand in large part up until after WW II was over- 1946.

18 - Hulda, Utica; Grace Browne, Yorkville; Herman, Pawling; Hannah, Brooklyn; Howard, Delaware; Bob, Cazenovia ~1929

The three Liljestrand boys with their Kellum cousins (minus Debbie), St. Paul, 1953

Bob in front of the house on School St, Woods Hole, 1940

Lyla, Bob, Jim and Dick, St. Paul, abt 1946

With the Hazel Morton Kellum clan, August 1980

Xmas 2000 - back: Alice, Jim, Lyla, Bob, Andy, Robe;
front: Jennelle, Amy, Audrey, Norman

With Lyla, 1989

These periodic portraits reflect subtle changes in clothing and eyeware over time and reflect their graceful aging. By this time they were retired and living on Woodhaven Drive in Monroe.

3 - Bob ~1953

20 - 1932, Bob driving lesson from Aunt Grace. This is one of the few photos of Bob in High School at Cazenovia Seminary in Cazenovia New York. He was sent to this boarding. school because of several siblings of both parents lived nearby in Jordan, NY. That Methodist Seminary and High School closed in 2023. Records are now at Le Moyne College and the campus was purchased by investors..The College was a pioneer in co-education from its beginning in 1824 (Genesee Seminary). The Methodist Church began its sponsoring relation with the Seminary in 1894. From 1904 to 1931 it functioned as a secondary school for local young people until Cazenovia Central High School was built. Bob started at Hamlin college in 1933. His home was with Aunt Grace and Uncle Dick Henschka (German name).

Woodhaven Drive house in Monroe Ohio where Bob and Lyla lived until they moved to Assisted Living (but independent) at Mount Pleasant. That was a small ‘cottage’ on Northwestern Avenue where they lived for 14 +/- years until Bob’s death at age 96 in 2011. After that Lyle moved to the apartment building where she lived on the 3rd floor and could have 1 or 2 meals a day.

From there Lyla moved to the main building Memory Care unit until she died in 2019. She was in hospice for a long period in that unit and required special care attendants in addition to the Mount Pleasant staff of the Memory Care Unit.

6 - Bob, Lyla, 3 boys ~1959

The Liljestrands with their Kellum clan:
Back - Jim K, Jerry K, Bob K, Jim L
3rd - Elaine K, Dorothy K, Lyla, Margaret, Betty
2nd - Richard L, Hazel, Irving, Mike K
Front - Robert L, Debbie, Tom Fields, Bill K

Bob & Lyla on Cape Cod, abt 1939

With Jim, Dick and Lyla, abt 1947

1942 portrait as a young man

Bob was doing the ‘Woods Hole Thing’ which meant he worked several jobs at MBL (Marine Biological Laboratories) and WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanic Laboratories). As a younger high schooler (Cazenovia) and college student (Hamlin University St. Paul) he served as his older brother Howard’s ‘gofor’ assistant. For example the boys raised a sunk Criscraft inboard motorboat (The Empress) and Bob restored the engine himself.

5 - Bob & Lyla, Eel Pond, Woods Hole ~1939-40

12 - 315 Shaffer St. Middletown Ohio

The Robert and Lyla Liljestrand family in 1953 moved to this house from Saint Paul Minnesota. Jim was in the 7th grade at Roosevelt Junior High School, Dick (Richard Irving) and Robe (Robert Eric) at the nearby elementary school. The family lived in this house until all 3 boys went off to college. The 3 boys had household jobs and summer jobs in Middletown.

13 - Oct 1960

Deer Lake cabin was the summer residence for the 3 Liljestrand boys while Bob worked in St Paul/Minneapolis at Waldorf Paper Company as a superintendent of the mill. As that role required that he be on call 24/7 it was a drain on the family for him to be away in the middle of the night and all odd hours. In 1953 he decided to leave Waldorf and go to Ohio to work in technical sales and product development for American Cyanamid Company-paper chemicals division (he was on the team that developed the paper swim suit using the new wet strength resin the company developed)

17 - Hannah Ericson, Brooklyn NY; Grace Browne, Yorkville NY; Bob, Cazenovia, NY; Herman, Pawling NY; Lu Tse Ren, Chengtu, W. China, pediatrician; Hulda, Utica NY, YWCA Exec. Secretary