Robert (Bob) Nils Sporrong

Robert (Bob) Nils Sporrong, age 86, passed away on April 3, 2026, in Santa Clara, Utah. He was born on April 11, 1939, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington, to Marjorie Jane McGraw and Nils Gustav Emil Sporrong. Bob's early childhood was spent with his mother and Swedish immigrant father in Washington before their divorce at 4 years old. His mother remarried a WWII veteran and Texan, Floyd Hollinger, and Bob spent the second half of his childhood in rural Texas. In adolescence, he moved with the family to Southern California to be near his grandparents, where he graduated from Poly High School in Riverside, California, in 1957. An undercurrent in Bob's life was a pull toward independence of spirit and a willingness to lean into discomfort and challenge. As a 20-year-old Californian, he moved to Sweden to experience his father's homeland — sun-starved winters, few friends, and very little money on arrival. In Gothenburg, while living with his aunt and uncle, he worked for 24 cents an hour as an apprentice machinist. He also recalled fondly the backbreaking, unpolished life he lived as a deckhand on a tramp freighter that carried him from Sweden across the Atlantic for months at sea. In Gothenburg, he waited patiently each week for Time Magazine to arrive and read it from cover to cover — his aunt would remark that his Swedish had regressed by the next morning. In time, he enrolled in Gothenburg Technical College, where he formed lifelong friendships with classmates. Those friendships, along with the relationships he built with his extended family, endured across decades and continents. Following graduation from Gothenburg, Bob returned to California where, due to constraints on international degrees at the time, he enrolled at Cal Poly Pomona and received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, followed by his MBA from California State University, San Bernardino. It was in a student carpool where he met his wife-to-be, Judy Pratt — an all-American girl who was captured by this exotic Swede, sporting worn dyed loafers and wool Scandinavian sweaters, often flanked by a bota bag. She was drawn to the handsome wanderer, and he was drawn to her beauty and sweet kindness. He married Judith Ann Pratt in Riverside, California, on May 1, 1964. Through Judy's family, Bob was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held many roles throughout his life, including Elder's Quorum counselor and single adults representative. He and Judy hosted Monday family home evenings and day trips for single members for many years. Bob launched his career with Mattel Toys, where he designed and patented "Big Jim," a male action figure with smashing karate action and flexing biceps. He later left Mattel to devote himself to the family business, Rapid Data, Inc., a data processing company founded by his mother and family matriarch, where he worked throughout most of the 1970s side-by-side with his brothers Michael and Floyd Jr. (Cowboy) in Redlands, California. Following his departure from Rapid Data, Bob's career spanned multiple global medical manufacturing companies, working in design, management, and quality engineering across South Asia and Europe. After a brief chapter in Erie, Pennsylvania, he eventually settled in Sandy, Utah, in surgical sponge manufacturing, where he finished his career doing what he loved best — analyzing statistics and combing data to improve surgical sponges. He wrote a book on the topic and affectionately retired with the nickname “Sponge Bob”. Bob had a love of cars, motorcycles and planes early in his life and was most proud of his 1962 Jaguar E-Type, which he took to car shows before reluctantly retiring it in favor of his Roadtrek RV, in which he and Judy traveled across the country during retirement. Bob would often travel on “Walk Abouts” alone in his Roadtrek meeting and learning from people along his journey, with his most loved backdrop along the Oregon Coast. Bob valued community and giving back. He served as a volunteer ski patroller in Park City; played the part of Orson Pratt, an early church settler of St. George, in the "St. George Live" historical tour; volunteered at the Senior Games; remained active in his HOA; and taught computer classes for seniors at the local college. Bob's life was touched by profound tragedy twice: the death of his middle son, Darren Lee, in a bicycle accident in 1976, and the sudden loss of his oldest son, Robert Jon (B.J.), in 2006. His resilience in the wake of these tragedies was further tested by the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease which in the twenty years he lived with the condition, he never complained, lamented or was ashamed, and it rarely slowed him down until the final few years. Headstrong in his youth — “Sweden changed him,” his mother would say — he was known to be resolute to a fault at times, but the years softened him into what he liked to call a Buddhist Mormon, meaning he valued curiosity as a way of life and held any one belief loosely. He had a deep fascination for physics and great admiration for the life and words of the physicist Richard Feynman. He enjoyed intellectual sparring and tended to reframe most arguments by advocating the opposing side — less from contrarianism than from a genuine desire to sharpen understanding. He was resourceful and frugal, preferring minimalism over material possessions. Practical and linear in his Engineering-trained thinking, he was nonetheless extraordinarily moved by the natural beauty of Utah and the warmth of his friendships. The highlight of his retirement was spent sipping coffee with his friend Leonard, and the breakfast club, at the local gas station, discussing current events. He is survived by his wife Judith Ann Sporrong, son Jeremy Dane Sporrong (Longo) of Ivins, UT; his grandchildren Jonathan Robert Sporrong (Lauren), Sofia Quinn Sporrong, Jonah Kai Sporrong, brothers Floyd Hollinger, Michael Morland Sporrong (Jacqueline), sister-in-law Jan K. Yant, and many loving family and friends. The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the hospice nurse and caregivers and the staff of Snow Canyon Retirement Community, whose loving and gentle care brought great comfort during a difficult time. Memorial will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS Chapel in Ivins at 625 E. Center St, Ivins UT 84738. Interment will be held at Ivins City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donating to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. https://give.michaeljfox.org