The "music man of Robbinsdale" went out on a high note Saturday when his casket was carried from Sacred Heart Catholic Church in that town as three of his children and other jazz musicians played "Amazing Grace" and "When the Saints Go Marching In."
"It was a real celebration, and that's what Bob would have wanted," said longtime friend Diane Ristrom, who played the piano during the melody-packed funeral for an area music legend and inspiration.
Robert H. Mendenhall, who died last Tuesday at 88, served more than three decades as the Robbinsdale schools' band director and later as district music coordinator. He began directing the Robbinsdale City Marching Band in 1947. It won the Minneapolis Aquatennial grand champion title in 17 straight Torchlight Parades, said his son David Mendenhall, of Lakeville.
When he wasn't teaching or conducting bands, Mendenhall played clarinet in gigs of local groups, including the Jerry Mayeron Big Band and the Skeets Langley Trio, his son said. Mendenhall, who grew up with eight siblings in north Minneapolis and went to North High School, also played in the Navy band during World War II.
Ristrom said Mendenhall hired her as a junior high choral teacher in the 1967. "He was an incredibly positive man who made you want to make marvelous music for him. I gave him everything I had because that was what he gave to you. ... He did it because he loved music, he loved education and he loved his children and his staff."
Mendenhall said his father's integrity was evident when his concern about perceived nepotism led the band director to have himself transferred from Robbinsdale to Cooper High School while his four children attended Robbinsdale High. But his kids received plenty of music encouragement from their parents, and three of them went on to become professional musicians, said David Mendenhall, a retired band director for Apple Valley schools.
Mendenhall's obituary on the startribune.com website attracted dozens of comments from former students.
"To my favorite teacher at R.H.S.: Always a smile and kind but honest words," wrote Nila Anderson of Monticello, a 1962 graduate of Robbinsdale High School. "I still remember him playing 'The Flight of the Bumblebee' in one breath on the clarinet!"
David Mendenhall said his father was named the city of Robbinsdale's Man of the Year in 1984, when he retired as the Robbinsdale School District's music director.
Mendenhall was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Patricia. In addition to his son David, he is survived by another son, Dale of New Hope; two daughters, Kathy Jensen of St. Louis Park and Carol Poole of Golden Valley; a brother, Ralph, of Walker, Minn.; two sisters, Ruth Ericksen of Minneapolis and Betty Jane Johnson of Phoenix, and five grandchildren.
Jim Adams • 952-746-3283
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