Stanford A. Lindstrom, Cofounded Lumber Company, Loved Figure- Skating

Stanford A. Lindstrom found both his wife and the love of his life at the ice-skating rink.

Mr. Lindstrom, former national figure-skating judge and past president of Mercer Island Lumber Co., died in Redmond Monday. He was 81.

He won the junior pairs Washington state figure-skating championship in 1947. That same year, he met his future wife at an ice rink near Tacoma.

"I was there for the recreation, and he was there with a group of judges," said Lois Lindstrom, who married him a year later.

Soon after, Mr. Lindstrom stopped performing in figure-skating competitions and concentrated on judging them. He began as a local judge and became a national judge for the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

"He liked it. He used to wake up at 4 a.m. to judge children," Lois Lindstrom recalled. "In those years, roller skaters didn't have enough judges, so he would do roller-skating competitions, too."

In the early 1950s, he and his brother created the Mercer Island Lumber Co. He worked six days a week and judged in his spare time.

"It was very successful. They carried a lot of things regular hardware stores didn't carry," Lois Lindstrom said. "They had treated lumber, concrete, moldings - everything you would want for your home."

Her husband was always helpful to his customers, she said. "They came in with problems and little knowledge, and they left getting what they needed and some advice."

Mr. Lindstrom stopped judging in the early 1980s and sold the lumber company in 1986, when he retired.

A native of Seattle, he attended Broadway High School and the University of Washington. Before entering the lumber business, he worked for Seattle City Light and owned an import-export business.

Mr. Lindstrom also loved collecting rocks and gems. He was a past president of the Bellevue Rock Club and took trips across Washington, Oregon, Montana and South Dakota to collect rocks and gems.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Lindstrom is survived by his son, Sanford J. Lindstrom of Bellevue; his brother, Morris F. Lindstrom of Bellevue; his sister, Elsie Loucks of Edmonds; and two grandchildren. His service was Wednesday.