David Sunde

Remembering David Andrew Sunde

May 21, 1938 - August 22, 2023


David Andrew Sunde was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 21, 1938, to Oscar and Rose Sunde. He was the middle child, with older sister, Beverly, and younger brother, Paul. Sensitive and bright, he was a good student—definitely not the trouble-making type! He played the saxophone in the school band. He was tall and athletic, earning the nickname Bones on his high school basketball team. He also played ice hockey and mastered the toboggan on the local sliding hill in the cold, snowy winters. His mother’s apple pie, the family cocker spaniel, and family vacations to Empire on Lake Michigan were treasured memories. He graduated from Lee High School in 1956 with honors and a basketball scholarship to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.


David was intending to study chemistry at university, but he discovered a love of history, and changed his major. One evening, he and his buddies were going out and he did not have a date. His friends pulled up in front of a nursing home where a group of cute girls were hanging out after their shift there, and issued a dare: who wants to go on a date with David? A fun-loving girl named Sandra Postema accepted the challenge, and soon they knew they wanted to continue the adventure.


David and Sandra married in New Era, Michigan, on September 5, 1959. They honeymooned on Mackinac Island, and moved into a tiny apartment in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They graduated together with their bachelors degrees in 1960.


The Sundes moved to Dallas, Texas, where David attended Dallas Theological Seminary. Their first daughter, Judy, was born there in 1963. David graduated with his Masters of Divinity in 1964. After graduation, they moved to South Gate, California, where David served as a pastoral intern at Trinity Bible Church. There, they welcomed daughters Lisa in 1964 and Mary in 1966.


In 1966, David joined the staff of Cru, and became the campus director at Northwestern University. When Mary was only two weeks old, the family moved to Evanston, Illinois. The Sunde home was always full of students or fellow Cru staff, with David teaching in the living room and Sande feeding them all, buffet style, in the dining room. David eventually became Regional Director for the Midwest and spent a lot of time traveling to campuses in the region.


In 1972, David accepted a position as National Field Director at Cru headquarters, Arrowhead Springs, in San Bernardino, California. The family moved to Riverside to be near the California School for the Deaf, so Lisa would not have to board away from home. When asked why he left campus ministry, David said that he overheard one of his children saying, when asked what her father’s job was, that she didn’t know what he did, but he was gone all the time—and he decided he needed to make a change. During these years, many favorite family memories revolved around yearly road trips to Fort Collins, Colorado, for Cru Staff Training, held at CSU.


In 1978, he became a faculty member at International School of Theology at Arrowhead Springs. He was a respected teacher and counselor at IST until 1984. As the children got older, David and Sande traveled extensively, speaking and teaching with Family Life Ministries. They loved the camaraderie with the speaking team and the meaningful interactions and friendships that grew with conference attendees.


In 1984, David and Sande moved to San Diego to start Marketplace Ministries, an organization that grew out of a desire to help working people connect to spiritual encouragement and teaching during the work week. The San Diego years were rich in community and family time, with David officiating at all three of his daughters’ weddings, and David and Sande actively involved in the lives of their grandchildren as the family grew. Deep relationships were fostered in Marketplace Cross Talk Bible studies, some of which are still meeting.


He led Marketplace Ministries for nine years before re-joining the Cru Campus Ministry to launch an initiative to college juniors and seniors called Graduating to the Marketplace. That entailed a move to Colorado in 1993 to join a new team in Boulder. David had always loved Colorado, and jumped at the chance to move to Louisville and to take part in the collaboration there. After five years, David and Sande moved into International Ministry, serving primarily in the Middle East, Francophone Africa, and Latin America with FamilyLife. During this time, David and Sande were active in Calvary Bible Church in Boulder, and later at the Erie campus, where David forged many sustaining relationships in Life Groups.


Around 2014, Sande began to struggle with what he later learned with Alzheimer’s disease. David was her caregiver until she moved into Memory Care in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic meant they could not continue to see each other in person, but he talked and video-called with her daily. David lost his beloved life partner in January 2021. He continued to live in their home in Louisville until it burned down in the Marshall Fire in December 2021. Those terrible bookends made it a very sad and challenging year.


He moved to Sunrise Senior Living in Broomfield in March 2022, and, in a matter of weeks, was meeting new friends, co-leading a Bible Study for residents, and facilitating a streaming worship service on Sundays. He also maintained many friendships in the Boulder area. In May 2022, David traveled to Norway, where Oscar’s parents were born, with his children. Though the trip had its challenges, it was wonderful to share the experience of connecting with his heritage, and he was dreaming of returning there next year.


Ever young at heart, the whole time he was living at Sunrise, he was making plans to move somewhere that was more stimulating for him. His wish came true in an unexpected way on August 22, 2023, when he passed away from complications of Myasthenia Gravis. He slipped away peacefully, with his daughters by his side, and words of love from his family and friends in his ears. We imagine him dancing in heaven now with Sande.


David lived a full life of investing in others. He was a skier, a golfer, and a reader. He taught Sande and the children to ski, and had many happy runs together as a family. He coached his girls in many sports, from tennis to bowling, though his star-athlete genes didn’t seem to be passed down. He enjoyed a good spy novel or a romantic comedy movie. He loved to play board games, and was well-known for his dry sense of humor. David liked to attend baseball and football games and root for the Rockies and the Buffs. In free time, he puttered in his garden and garage. David was a seasoned traveler and delighted in exploring the world and meeting people from different cultures. He was happiest when he was teaching and counseling both friends and family. He has dear friends from every stop along his journey, all over the world, who will miss him greatly.


David was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sande; his parents Oscar and Rose Sunde; and his sister Beverly. He is survived by his daughters, Judy Hanawalt (Steve), Lisa Rutland, Mary Sunde (Dave Merchant); thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; his brother, Paul Sunde (Maryanne) and numerous nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.