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:

1. Goodwill Industries in Lowell, MA as a Business Manager (1938-1939)

2. Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA (1929-1943)

3. Waldorf Paper in St. Paul, MN as a Superintendent, then moved to Technical Sales.(1943-1953)

4. American Cyanamid Corporation in Technical Sales (1953-1982)