Targe Mandt Lindsay

Targe Mandt Lindsay Targe Mandt Lindsay passed away on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 while at home in the warm embrace of family. Born June 24, 1927 in Fairfield, Iowa, Targe was the 4th of four children of Grant and Eva Lindsay. He was an athlete of renown in school and still holds the school record as a member of the 2-mile relay team at Fairfield High as well as the record for the even-less-common 3-block sprint between girlfriend Joanne Padgett’s house and the Rex Theater where he worked as projectionist, arriving microseconds before needing to flip the switch to start the second reel. Usually. After graduation from Fairfield’s Parsons College and marrying his high school/college sweetheart, Joanne, Targe moved to Texas. Trading cornfields for tumbleweed and snow drifts for sunshine he took his new master’s degree from East Texas State Teachers College to West Texas where he taught high school science and coached the 6-man football team to their first and only district championship—a feat for which he was venerated as a veritable saint in the Texas religion of Friday Night Lights at the 40th reunion of the Garden City Bearcats Class of 1957 decades after he’d left the school. Targe quickly moved into school administration in Midland, Texas before relocating to California in 1960 where he spent the rest of his career entirely within the San Juan Unified School District. He was the first Dean of Students at the new Rio Americano High School, then Vice Principal and Principal of Mira Loma, followed by Principal at Bella Vista and La Vista until his retirement in 1987. He approached each school as “family” and worked tirelessly to foster an atmosphere of inclusiveness, cooperation, and respect. He viewed the role of administration to be one of support for the teachers and particularly the students, allowing lots of latitude and freedom for both groups to do what they do best without undue and unnecessary interference from administration or—heaven forbid—the District Office! There was one aspect of his career in Education that profoundly impacted the lives of his kids: summers. As an educator in the Sputnik era, Targe was eligible for the National Science Foundation summer programs intended to get teachers up to speed on the sciences. He took the family to BYU in Provo, UT the summer of 1959 and to Portland, OR in 1963 for two such programs. He also took the family to Mt. Rainier and Bryce Canyon National Parks where he worked as a ranger naturalist during the summers of 1960, ’61, and ’66. Those summers instilled a love of learning and of the outdoors that changed the course of his kids’, grandkids’, and great-grandkids’ lives. Targe was a member of the Carmichael Presbyterian Church where he served for a number of years as a Deacon and Elder in the ’60s. Targe was grounded in the Here and Now, and was foremost a fan of the Golden Rule. He lived by the maxim “Tis better to give than to receive” which for him applied to almost anything, whether material objects, a helping hand, a thoughtful gesture, and sometimes...advice! After retirement, Targe and Joanne enjoyed their travels in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Spain, and Africa. Often with no set itinerary they navigated from adventure to adventure on their own by talking to locals, jumping on buses, and following their nose. Targe had a good eye for the cool and classy. He enjoyed buying and selling antiques and other collectables. He developed a special affection for violins and became a knowledgeable broker providing many a fiddle to novice and professional. He loved giving children in his extended family their first violin and was always one of their biggest fans. He discovered the Internet and the iMac at the keyboard of which he made good use of his dual degree in English and Journalism. Until the end, he sent dispatches to family and friends—often in complicated rhyming schemes—that recounted tales from childhood, accolades for family and friends, recent discoveries from his forays deep into the Internet, and his insights into current events. He was a champion of the underdog, viewed the status quo and mainstream thought with some suspicion, and knew that history is a version of a tale told by those left standing—much in the same way that obituaries are. One of his joys in recent years was reconnecting through social media with many of his former students, faculty, and staff. Friendships blossomed that were gratifying to all. In the last week of Targe’s life, he received hundreds of heartfelt messages that he was able to hear and understand. Knowing that his life had positively impacted the lives of so many others was a profound gift to Targe, and his family will be forever grateful. Targe went out on a very high note! More than anything, Targe was dedicated to his family. He and Joanne were a unified team that raised their family with kindness, firmness, fairness, generosity, and love. He could be counted on to help in anyway he could, from remodeling his kids’ houses to playing Teletubbies on the floor with his grandkids...and everything in between. He had a gift for making work fun, a contagious enthusiasm, a sharp mind, a quick wit, a charming sense of humor, and an optimism that wouldn’t quit. Targe will be greatly missed—by his family, friends, and the many Facebook and email friends in whom he delighted. He is survived by his wife, Joanne; his 4 children and their spouses, Targe, Jr. (Barbara), Tom, Kelly (Diana), and Nancy (Tim); 8 grandchildren and their spouses, Camilla (Isaac), Jessie (Aaron), Eric (Kylie), David (Stephanie), Kristina (Isai), John, Jake, and Siena; and 9 great-grandchildren, Thea, Jasper, Aidan, Eli, Cora, Lena, Claire, Frances, and Amy. We in the Lindsay Family would like to celebrate Targe’s life with others in an inclusive way not restricted by geography, time, or circumstance and invite you to participate in a way that Targe would enjoy, and we hope you will, too. Forty-four years ago Principal Lindsay was quoted in the school’s yearbook: “Some of the warmest feelings I have come during the week after the yearbooks are distributed. Nowhere else do we have the exchange of written expressions of concern, love, appreciation, etc. that we write in each other’s yearbooks.” So we are hoping to stir up some of those “warmest feelings” for Targe and for all of us in Targe’s expansive, extended family by asking you to write in Targe’s 1927-2018 Yearbook at www.facebook.com/targemlindsay. It is open to anyone, anywhere. If you would like to post something, we are hoping that you might be able to do so by this Thanksgiving Day, the Lindsay’s favorite holiday, when we all have gathered at our family home for the last 58 years. This year will be our first without Targe, but we are going to be sharing what we have left, and for which we will always be thankful: our memories, our stories, and our never-ending love for our Targe/Dad/Dadro. We’d love to hear and share yours. Thank you!