Project #3 - Obituary

Erin LaRae Sundvall, Photographer and Entrepreneur, dies at 75Published: April 15, 2066

Erin Sundvall, an established photographer for National Geographic and well known contributor to new age advertising, died on Wednesday in the home she and her husband, world famous photojournalist Massimo Bassano, bought in 2022 in Cinque Terre, Italy. She was 75.

The cause was a heart attack, said her sister, Kayla Sundvall. 

  

Erin Sundvall with her first camera given
to her for a graduation gift from her parents,
Tony and Sara Sundvall of Bemidji, Minn.
Age 23.

  Ms. Sundvall, who was honored with the Crain’s Best Place to Work in New York City award for her privately owned advertising and marketing firm, has always been given the title of mother hen by her pervious employees.  “Erin was always there for me and the other employees,” said Sundvall’s sister, Kayla. “She was the greatest boss I could have ever asked for.”  

  Along with her advertising success, Ms. Sundvall spent most of her career traveling the world as a photographer for National Geographic magazine.  She took fifteen covers for the magazine and gained respect from her co-workers and the lives she touched while traveling abroad.

  Bemidji State University is where the ideas and drive first started.  “She absolutely loved her mass media and society class,” said Sundvall’s cousin, Amy Larson.  “After the first semester of her sophomore year of college she knew exactly what she wanted to achieve.” After graduating with honors, a successful run as photographer for the Bemidji State University Northern Student and a bachelor of science in marketing communications, Ms. Sundvall landed an entry level photography job with National Geographic.  Her participation in the Eurospring program through Bemidji State University “changed her outlook on life and wanted to learn more about how other cultures work,” said Sundvall’s sister, Kayla. 

Ms. Sundvall’s first photo collection came from Morocco.  She spent eleven days around the city of Marrakech.  Her collection of photos from this trip made her first National Geographic cover in July of 2015.  On this trip she met her future husband, Massimo Bassano, an Italian photojournalist who was the leader of her expedition.  They were married in December of 2020.  They worked alongside each other until Mrs. Sundvall resigned in 2026.

Ms. Sundvall’s knowledge obtained by traveling abroad was the foundation of Global Persona, her advertising and marketing firm that was founded in New York City.  The focus of the company was marketing American goods in foreign cultures. She is well known for the company winning the Crain’s Best Place to Work in New York City in 2032.  She accepted the honor with her husband Massimo Bassano. The company has since been taken over by Ms. Sundvall’s sister and long time employee, Kayla Sundvall.

Erin LaRae Sundvall was born on April 28, 1991, to a boiler mechanic in Bemidji, Minn. She is survived by her husband, Massimo; and a sister, Kayla Sundvall of Minneapolis, Minn.