Reidar Tryggestad

Reidar Tryggestad of East Walpole, MA and Aalesund, Norway passed away peacefully in Boston, MA on Thursday, January 9, 2025. He was 93.

Reidar was born June 9, 1931 in Ålesund, Norway, to Jørgen and Stina (Solbak) Tryggestad. The youngest of four children, he grew up on the family farm with brother Kjell and two sisters, Aslaug and Gunvor. He had fond childhood memories of playing in the fields, swimming in the fjord, and selling fish that he and the neighborhood kids would ‘borrow’ from incoming boats at the docks. He attended school alongside his siblings until the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 at the start of WWII, when he was 9. The five long years of occupation and war disrupted his family, defined his childhood, and had a profound effect on him for the remainder of his long life.

After Norway was liberated in 1945, Reidar joined the junior team of Aalesunds Fotballklubb (AAFK), marking the official start of what would become a lifelong passion for the game of soccer. As a young man Reidar served in Norwegian armed forces, hoping to be a pilot. He also spent time as a truck driver, and most notably played soccer on the under-18 Norwegian National Team, the A-Team for AAFK, and in Norway’s premier league for Ranheim Fotball in Trondheim. He met his first wife in Norway and fathered a daughter, Anne-Stine, in 1960. He had developed a strong interest in the forbidden radio technology used by the Norwegian resistance movement during the war and, after working as a radio engineer in the Norwegian Air Force, was inspired to study electrical engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and came to the US in 1961 to complete a bachelor’s degree program in Electrical Engineering at Michigan Tech, which he earned in 1963. His collegiate work earned him the support of his professors and the United States government, and he gained employment at Raytheon Corporation in Norwood, Massachusetts, which became known during WWII for their contribution to the advancement of enemy detecting radar capabilities. During his time at Raytheon, he helped fix our national secure communication systems and designed and built the simulator for the United State’s first missile defense system.

Despite his initial plan to “only stay for a couple of years,” Reidar created a second home in Massachusetts. He helped organize and manage a local soccer team, the Norwood Kickers, hosted his daughter from Norway during summer school breaks and throughout her college education, and bought the house in East Walpole that he would call home for the rest of his life. While celebrating a special game between the Kickers and a crew of German sailors that were docked nearby, he met the love of his life, Carolyn. They married in 1978 and started a family that rooted him here for good. Together they had three children; Kari-Elise, Sylvi-Linn, and Jon-Erik.

Reidar’s unique determination and skill set led him to found his own company, MPM (Modern Printing Method) Corporation, along with several of his business- and engineering-minded soccer mates. Together, they developed state-of-the-art circuit board printing technology that led to the large-scale production of early cellular telephones and many other applications. As MPM grew into a successful endeavor and thrived, so did Reidar’s love, talent, and acumen for the game of soccer. In his 50s and even his 60s he was known for outplaying the younger guys in the over-30 and over-40 leagues. He played until he was 70-years old and was inducted into the Massachusetts Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001. During that time, he served as the liaison for the Norwegian Football Federation to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, used his networks in the USA and Norway to organize friendly matches between the two womens’ national teams stateside, and was named the Executive Director of the Boston venue of the World Cup 1994. He also helped develop soccer analytical software and operated three professional soccer teams as a partner in Massachusetts Professional Soccer, Inc.: the Boston Bulldogs, Boston Renegades, and the Cape Cod Crusaders.

After selling MPM in 1995, Reidar began “retirement” by using the resources to pursue projects aligned with his passions: family, soccer, and his hometown, Aalesund, Norway. This chapter saw Reidar purchase the family farm and renovate the house he grew up in in Aalesund, which still serves as a center for his family there and for many years housed various players and coaches for AAFK. He invested in AAFK, which reignited his relationship with his hometown club that would last the rest of his life. His natural ability to foster relationships, keen business sense, and astute knowledge and unadulterated love of the game helped the club grow from financial trouble in the 90s into a new state of the art stadium, increasingly competitive management, coaching staff, and players, entrance into Norway’s premier league, and ultimately the team’s first championship in the Norway Cup tournament. His understanding of technology led to investments that helped him secure funding to support many industries in Aalesund, including the local marine aquarium, Atlanterhavsparken, which has become the first marine science center in Norway and is known as one of the most prominent saltwater aquariums in Europe.

Though Reidar lived the ideal American Dream and shared his successes with his hometown, he also built a wonderful domestic life with his family here and made many life-long friendships. He was a long-term member of the Norumbega Lodge of The Sons of Norway in Newton, MA, where he connected with the Norwegian-American community. His love of nature led him to build a cabin at Stinson Lake in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where he passed down his various outdoor skills and passions to his children, including fishing and cross country skiing. As his family grew, he chose to expand his home on Killeen Road due to the strong relationships he built with his neighbors and often remarked that “‘we could have bought a new house, but you can’t buy the neighborhood.” Despite all his successes and achievements, it is this mindset that truly defines him; what he really cared about was the people in his life and the moments they shared. He never sought notoriety or special treatment, preferring to shine a light on the people, places, and institutions that he loved instead of himself.

Reidar lived out his retirement with many trips to visit family in Norway, taking daily walks in Bird Park and patting all the dogs he would encounter, and, most importantly, spending time with his grand-children; Silje, Erlend, and Ragnhild in Norway, and Dahlia, Clara, Eliza, and Andrew in the US, and his great-grandchildren in Norway: Mio and Ariel. He will be remembered and celebrated by his family and friends for his energy and zest for life, his love and compassion for people, and his unique quirkiness, which touched many and will be missed by all; “Guaranteed!”

Relatives and Friends are kindly invited to share in celebration of Reidar’s life and pay their respects to him and his family during visiting hours on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole, MA. 

A funeral service will be held for Reidar on Friday, January 17, 2025, at 11:00 am at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 24 Berwick Street, Norwood, MA. Interment will take place in the spring in Ålesund, Norway. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Reidar's name may be sent to love.fútbol at 5105 Chevy Chase Parkway NW, Washington, DC 20008 or by visiting love.fútbol through https://www.lovefutbol.org/donate. Donations may also be sent to Endowment Fund of the ELCA, P.O. Box 95802, Chicago, IL 60694-5802, with Tryggestad Family Fund E273177 on the memo line

You can also simply make time to love your neighbors and pat the dogs you meet on your walks.