Résumé

According to his obituary posted on Find a Grave.com, "After graduating from Stanford in 1947, he became an Architect in the Palo Alto area, designing over 300 private residences, public buildings and churches." (See Find a Grave.com, "Chester Neal Lindstrom," accessed 07/09/2025.)

Private, US Army, 7th Army, 103rd Infantry, Cactus Division, European theatre, 1943-1945.

Cabinet maker, Lindstrom Cabinet Works, Tacoma, WA, c. 1947. (See Tacoma, Washington, City Directory, 1947, p. 600.)

Draftsman, Lea, Pearson and Richards, Architects, Tacoma, WA, 1949. (See Tacoma, Washington, City Directory, 1949, p. 648.)

Architectural draftsman, Menlo Park, CA, c. 1950.

Draftsman, Kingsford Jones, Architect, Menlo Park, CA, 1953. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Redwood City, California, City Directory, 1953, p. 500.)

Principal, Neal Lindstrom, Architect, Menlo Park, CA and Palo Alto, CA, c. 1957-1995. His first office was situated at 637 Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park, CA. (See Menlo Park, California, City Directory, 1957, p. 38.) Two years later, Lindstrom moved to Palo Alto, where he leased an office at 800 Welch Road. (See Menlo Park, California, City Directory, 1959, p. 193.) By 1961, Lindstrom had moved to 701 Welch Road in Palo Alto. (See Menlo Park, California, City Directory, 1961, p. 211.) By 1968, he continued to rent office space at 701 Welch Road, Room #3324, moving to Room #3311 by 1972. The New York architect Edward Durrell Stone also had his office in the building at 701 Welch Road, Room #2222. (See Palo Alto, California, City Directory, 1968, p. 314 and Palo Alto, California, City Directory, 1972, p. 39.) The architect still worked at 701 Welch Road in 1995. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation City: Palo Alto; State: California; Year(s): 1995, accessed 07/09/2025.) It appears that Lindstrom retired from practice in about 1995 after the death of his wife Lois.

College

Graduate, Stadium High School, Tacoma, WA, 1941. Lindstrom played varsity basketball for two years and was vice-president of his senior class. (See Stadium High School Tahoma Yearbook, 1941, p. 29.)

B.S., Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 1947.

Relocation

Chester Neal Lindstrom, who went by his middle name or as "C. Neal" during his professional career, was born in Tacoma, WA, on 06/04/1923. He grew up in Tacoma, WA, where his father worked as a cabinetmaker, and graduated from Stadium High School. Neal Lindstrom was an only child.

At the age of six, Neal lived with his parents at 1703 North Cedar Street in a residence worth about $5,000, a value in line with immediate neighbors. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Tacoma, Pierce, Washington; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0095; FHL microfilm: 2342245, accessed 07/09/2025.) The Lindstroms remained at this address in 1940 with the house continuing to have the same estimated value. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Tacoma, Pierce, Washington; Roll: m-t0627-04388; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 42-5, accessed 07/09/2025.)

Lindstrom attended Stanford University between 1941 and 1943, married Beverly Britton during World War II, and returned to graduate from Stanford after the war's cessation in 1945 and was a student there in 1946.

The Tacoma, Washington, City Directory, 1947, (p. 600) indicated that Neal Lindstrom and his wife resided at 2507 North Starr Street in Tacoma and worked for his father's Lindstrom Cabinet Works at 1207 A Street. He stopped working at his father's business in 1948 or 1949, and switched to architecture. He and Beverly lived at 9904 Oak Lane SW in Tacoma. (See Tacoma, Washington, City Directory, 1949, p. 648.)

By 1950, he and his first wife Beverly resided in Menlo Park, CA, living at 280 Ravenswood Avenue. (See Redwood City, California, City Directory, 1950, p. 637.) Three years later, they had relocated to 1797 Oakdell Drive in Menlo Park and remained here in 1963. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Redwood City, California, City Directory, 1953, p. 500 and Menlo Park, California, City Directory, 1963, p. 195.) His address was listed as 1797 Oakdell Drive in 1965. (See Menlo Park, California, City Directory, 1965, p. 192.) He continued to be married to Beverly in 1969 and to live in Menlo Park. (See Palo Alto, California, City Directory, 1969, p. 288.)

After marrying Lois Glendenning Garrard in 1970, he, his second wife Lois and her children settled in Los Altos Hills, CA. Between 1993 and 1995, at least, they maintained a primary residence at 13157 La Paloma Drive in Los Altos Hills, CA, and had a vacation house at 8715 Randall Drive in Gig Harbor, WA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Death Index, 1940-2017, accessed 07/09/2025.)

He married a third time to Helen Saunders in 1996, and moved to a primary home in the Riverside County desert community of Indian Wells, CA.

His final marriage was to Claire Swantner, with whom he lived in both Indian Wells and Gig Harbor, WA. Later in life, they moved to another residence in Orinda, CA.

The architect died in Palo Alto, CA, on 09/22/2009 and was buried at Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood, WA.

Parents

His father was Chester Nels Lindstrom (born 12/03/1896 in Tacoma, WA-d. 12/03/1954 in Tacoma, WA), who operated a cabinet-making business, the Lindstrom Cabinet Works, in Tacoma, WA. He was one of at least eight children had by Ida Christine Olson (born 11/29/1873 in IL-d. 11/15/1962 in Tacoma, WA) and Carl Axel Wilhelm (Charles William) Lindstrom (born c. 10/1869 in Sweden-d. 02/14/1940 in Tacoma, WA). (The 1900 US Census listed Ida's birthdate as 11/1872, while her Pierce County death certificate listed 11/29/1873. See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Tacoma Ward 3, Pierce, Washington; Roll: 1748; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 0177, accessed 07/09/2025 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Death Index, 1940-2017, accessed 07/09/2025.) Charles W. Lindstrom, like Chester Nels, worked as a cabinetmaker.

Chester Nels Lindstrom married Emma H. Hokanson (born 06/07/1897 in Tacoma, WA-d. 12/03/1996) on 09/03/1920 in Tacoma, WA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013; Reference Number: prcmc-v15a-0519-DA2, accessed 07/08/2025.)

Emma's parents were Johan Henrik (John Henry) Hokanson (born 01/18/1865 in Sweden-d. 11/14/1947 in Tacoma, WA), who was a lumber mill laborer in 1920, and Ida N. Nelson (born 01/24/1866 in Sweden-d. 02/18/1949 in Tacoma, WA), who managed the household and had five children. Both John and Ida were Swedish immigrants, who came here in 1886 and 1889, respectively, according to the 1900 US Census. (See Ancestry.com. Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Tacoma Ward 1, Pierce, Washington; Roll: 1748; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0163, accessed 07/08/2025.)

The 1940 US Census listed Chester Nels Lindstrom as having completed high school, while Emma had finished two years of college coursework.

Spouse

Lindstrom married four times. He first wed Beverly Joy Britton (born 07/22/1923 in Los Angeles County, CA-d. 10/22/2002 in CA) on 04/14/1944 in Palo Alto, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The Tacoma News Tribune; Publication Date: 23/ Apr/ 1944; Publication Place: Tacoma, Washington, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/733600651/?article=129f90dd-8c9c-4366-823d-fc695fec095c&focus=0.6179101,0.038230486,0.73779374,0.42883608&xid=3398, accessed 07/08/2025.) She graduated from Alhambra High School in 1941. (See Alhambra High School Alhambran Yearbook, 1941, p. 112.) It appears that their marriage ended abruptly in 1969 or 1970.

He wed Lois Evelyn Glendenning Garrard (born 10/13/1927 in Santa Clara County, CA-d. 11/26/1995 in Tacoma, WA) on 07/03/1970 in San Mateo County, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed 07/09/2025.) Lois attended Lincoln High School in San Jose and was, like Neal, a graduate of Stanford University. She graduated in economics two years later in 1949. (See Stanford Quad Yearbook, 1949, n.p.) Lois worked as a real estate broker in Los Altos Hills, CA, at the time of her death, caused by pneumonia, as a consequence of two blood diseases, leukemia and myeloid metaplasia. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Death Index, 1940-2017, accessed 07/09/2025.)

According to his obituary recorded on Find a Grave.com, Lindstrom married Helen Saunders in 1996.

He later married Claire Rita Monaghan Swantner (born 02/12/1923 in Tacoma, WA-d. 01/18/2009 in Gig Harbor, WA).

Children

He and Beverly Britton had two daughters, Leslie Lindstrom Dederer and Adrienne Lindstrom Abbott.

Biographical Notes

Lindstrom was Caucasian with a light complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. When he was 19 in 1942, he was exceptionally tall, standing 6-feet, 5-inches and weighed a slight 185 pounds.