Funeral Service for E.C. “Sig” Sigurdson, 89, of Sun Lakes, AZ, formally of Minneota, will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 2, 2019, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Minneota. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will follow the service at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery in Minneota. Military Rites provided by U.S. American Legion Post 199 and Minneota/Taunton VFW Post 5334 of Minneota.
Sig Sigurdson died in his sleep September 29, 2019, in Sun Lakes, Arizona.
He was born Nov. 25, 1929, in Minneota, the son of Chris and Edna (Thortsen) Sigurdson. Sig left the farm to attend the Wisconsin Institute of Technology in Platteville, WI, where he studied mining engineering for two years. He interrupted his studies to join the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. Part of his service was in Spokane, Washington, where he met Colleen McCanna.
Sig and Colleen were married in Reno, Nevada, on Oct. 31, 1952. Honorably discharged from the Air Force, Sig resumed the study of mining engineering at Wisconsin Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelor of Science degree. He graduated president of the student body and at the top of his class.
In 1956, Sig joined the Pan American Oil Company in Kansas as a roustabout and engineer trainee. For the next thirty plus years he helped find and develop producing oil fields around the world. His work took him to Texas, Louisiana, Alaska, and Colorado. In 1967 Sig transferred to the international division and moved to Norway. His international assignments took the family to Holland, back to Norway, then Tehran, Iran; Cairo, Egypt; Houston, Texas and back to Egypt. Sig eventually retired in Houston as Amoco’s executive vice president of Africa and the Middle East.
Sig enjoyed retirement and initially he and Colleen split their time between their lake house in Hutchinson and their home in Sun Lakes, Arizona. They eventually moved to Arizona full time, where he stayed active with golf for many years and enjoyed the Arizona climate. He loved his wife and family and he was very proud of his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Colleen, and two sons and daughters-in-law: Chris and Cindy Sigurdson and Scott and Stephanie Sigurdson; Grandchildren: Nicole (Sigurdson) Nan and her husband Will Nan, Cincinnati, OH; Amanda Sigurdson, San Francisco, CA; Christian Sigurdson, Los Angeles, CA; Shaun Sigurdson and his wife Cristina, Dallas, TX; Jessica Sigurdson, Groton, CT; and Katie Sigurdson, Los Angeles, CA; Sister: Betty Prefer of Farmington. Sig was preceded in death by his parents, Chris and Edna Sigurdson; sisters Lenore Hunziker, Pearl Werpy, Doris Johnson and brother Orvin Sigurdson.
Memorials in lieu of flowers may be sent to:
St, Paul’s Lutheran Church, 412 E Lyon St., Minneota, MN 56264
