Ralph Christian Andreas Tandberg (1901-1995) aka Thoralph Andreas Tandberg, Safety Engineer (b. August 31, 1901, Kristiania, Oslo, Norway - d. April 18, 1995, Anaheim, Orange County, California, 92802, USA) Social Security Number 057054657.
Kristiania[]
From 1878 to 1924, Kristiania was the name used for Norway's capital, Oslo. On January 01, 1925 the name was changed from Kristiania to Oslo.
Name[]
Ralph was born as Thoralph Christian Andreas Tandberg.
Parents[]
He was the son of Thorvald Martin Tandberg I (1874-1970); and Alvilde Marie Naess (1875-1933) of Kristiania, Oslo, Norway. Thorvald was the son of Andreas Tandberg (1847-1910) and Valborg Fischer (1848-1915).
Birth[]
He may have been born on August 28, 1901, but Social Security lists his birth date as August 31, 1901.
Kristiania, Oslo, Norway[]
In the 1900 Norway Census Thorvald was listed as the "Inspectør [of the] Grand Hotel" in "Portland, [Maine] Amerika". They were listed as: "Thorvald Martin Tandberg" and "Alvilde Marie Tandberg". With them was their daughter, "Ethel V.A. Tandberg".
Siblings[]
- Ethel Valborg Alfreda Tandberg (1898-1995) who married Clifford Milner (1892-1980)
- Thorvald Martin Tandberg II who may have died as an infant
- Yolanda Christina Tandberg (1902-2003) who married Joseph Nathaniel French (1888-1975), an architect
- Thordis Tandberg who died when she was 14
- Carl Frederick Tandberg (1910-1988) who married Alice Nazian Gonyer (1909-1992). There were two children stillborn.
First marriage[]
He married Sigrid Marie Andreassen (1905-1940) from Farsund, Norway on June 24, 1925 in Manhattan. He was listed as "Thoralph C.A. Tandberg" and their certificate was number "18850".
Children[]
- Adelma Tandberg (1928- ) who married George Steurer (1924-1995)
- June Thordis Tandberg (1933-2011) who married Charles DeWitt Baker I (1932-2005)
Jersey City, New Jersey[]
Ralph was living with his wife, Sigrid at 2/4 Webster Avenue in Jersey City in 1930. He was listed incorrectly as "Edward Tandberg" and he was working as an "insurance inspector". Living with them was Sigrid's half-sister: Klara Helene Shultz (1895-1973) who was married to Edward A. Thompson I (1895-1935). Klara and Edward were delicatessen owners.
Death of wife[]
Sigrid died in 1940 in her home at 4717 Park Avenue in Union City, Hudson County, New Jersey of "bilateral lobar pneumonia" with "endocarditis". In her last years she was a heavy drinker. She was buried in Fairview Cemetery.
Second marriage[]
Ralph met and married Esther Clyde (1895-1973) in Detroit. They had the following children: Pauline Tandberg who married Richard Dutton and they live in La Canada, California; and Christopher. Ralph and Esther later divorced.
Third marriage[]
After the divorce Ralph married JoAnn Losey (1931-2006) who lived in Anaheim, California. They had a daughter Laura Tandberg who married and divorced.
Death[]
He died on April 18, 1995 in Anaheim, Orange County, California. He was listed under the names: "Thoralph Tandberg" and "Ralph Tandberg" in the California Death Index.
Obituary in The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA, section Metro, page B03, dated April 24, 1995: Ralph A. Tandberg, 93, of Anaheim, a retired safety engineer, died Tuesday (April 18). Memorial services at 2 p.m. Tuesday (April 25) at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Orange, CA. Private burial. Arrangements by Hilgenfeld Mortuary, Anaheim. Survived by his wife, JoAnn; son, Chris, of Moreno Valley; daughters, Adelma Steurer of Florida, June Baker of Utah, Pauline Dutton of LaCanda and Laura Hanon of Anaheim; sister, Yolanda French of Michigan; 12 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
Cremated[]
He was most likely cremated.
Memories about Ralph Andreas Christian Tandberg[]
- Charles DeWitt Baker II said on May 10, 2006: "Ralph would do the quarter trick, pretend to pull a quarter out of my ear, then give it to me. Once I was running out of gas while driving from San Diego to Annaheim to go to Disney in 1981. It was during gas rationing, when they had even and odd days to fill up your car. I rented a Chevy from Rent-A-Wreck for $9 a day. We realized that Ralph lived in Anaheim and he got my tank filled up for $10, even though it was wrong day for me to get filled. He and JoAnn would never take down their Christmas tree. They had a plastic one. One time my mom and I were there, and my mom went to take a glass. Ralph said "don't use them they are for company"."
- June Tandberg (1932- ) said on May 10, 2006: "We went to Detroit after my mother died and lived with my uncle Joe French who was an architect. Joe was married to Yolanda Tandberg. Thoralph was born in Norway in 1901. I think it was August 28, 1901. He worked at age 19 at his father's restaurant in Boston, it was called "Chasin's". He got ulcers so they sent him out west for two years to Tucumcari, New Mexico. June Tandberg Baker said on May 12, 2006: My dad once went on a roller coaster at Coney Island and he lost hat, he was furious."
- Pauline Dutton on May 24, 2006: "He told me that he was so smart that he skipped several grades in school and graduated high school when he was 15. He was too young for college so they sent him to New Mexico as a ranch hand and he was later a deputy sheriff. He looked like Hoot Gibson (1892-1962) and would sign autographs as him. Ralph went to college but did not graduate. He had a magic and comedy act, and he worked at the Long Beach Civic Light Opera in Long Beach, California. He played in secondary roles such as captain Andy in "Showboat", and he was in "Desert Song", and the king in "The Band of Thieves". He was in "Song of Norway" and the "Vagabound King". He met Joann Losey about 50 years ago and they married in 1956. She was previously married to Joe Dennet. He tapped danced and had a piano tuning business and it was written up in the newspaper. He was cremated and the ashes were put in the sea. He was in the church choir. In his last years he was losing his vision from macular degeneration and he accidentally touched a woman's breast and he never went back to church."