Spring 2011
Luther Connections
How many times have you found yourself in a conversation with people and someone notices your class ring, or makes a connection with someone who went to Luther? There is a common bond that extends throughout the years with anyone who shared the Luther experience.
We were privileged to host the Nordic Choir at our church in Rockford in January. Before the concert we shared dinner with two younger couples from our church who were also Luther grads. One of them sang next to our son in Norsemen his freshman year. It was fun to share our stories from 40 years ago with them. In listening to their stories, we were assured that the Luther experience continues to touch everyone who attends.
Of course, the concert was wonderful and many of the members of the audience were Luther alumni or parents of students. Then, we hosted two students from the choir overnight. We stayed up past midnight (way later than we are usually awake) visiting with them. They even seemed to enjoy looking at our yearbooks and again, hearing our stories. They have such an excitement for Luther and for the music program. One of the boys asked, “What was your favorite memory from your years at Luther?” It was quite a challenge to pick one thing, but it sure made us think about all the wonderful memories we have.
Other random meetings include the story of being in China in 1987 when Bill was on a boat ride. He heard someone speaking English so started a conversation with them. That person was the sister of someone he knew from Luther. Our son met someone from Luther on a mountain climb in Colorado. We visited with a Luther grad who was seated randomly across from us as we waited for dinner in a restaurant, again in Colorado.
This summer we will attend the Weston Noble Alumni Choir week and will enjoy singing with people from many different years. We’re sure there will be many stories told during that time together. (An Alumni All Band Reunion is planned for summer too—July 29-31.)
We hope you have an occasion to meet someone who shares the Luther experience. Maybe you will share memories of your professors, music or drama organizations, athletic teams, student congregation, or the many other activities that we enjoyed. One way is to attend the alumni functions in your area. Look for times and locations on the alumni website
We are looking forward to warmer weather and we hope you have an enjoyable summer.
Sincerely,
Bill & Carolyn (Peterson) Kobler
1970 Class Agent
[email protected]
Don't forget your Annual Fund giving!
Each year nearly 10,000 alumni, parents, and friends support the Annual Fund with gifts from $3 to $50,000. Strong support from alumni helps Luther secure additional funds from foundations and corporations, and your gift each year helps us reach our goal of 30% alumni giving to the Annual Fund. Here’s how your class—and surrounding classes—did in 2010:
Class of 1969 Total giving in 2010: $133,279 from 27% of the class
CLASS OF 1970 TOTAL GIVING IN 2010: $103,303 FROM 30% OF THE CLASS
Class of 1971 Total giving in 2010: $86,767 from 27% of the class
Your gift can boost the impact your class has on current students! Please visit givenow.luther.edu to show your support. Thank you!
Class Notes
KAREN (STRUM) and ROBERT BEAR live in Marietta, Ga. Karen is a program administrator for the Atlanta Regional Commission; Robert is principal at FEC Consultants.
VICKI (MOHLIS) DONHOWE is owner/consultant of Vicki Donhowe Consulting in Decorah.
STEVE DREWES is a semi-retired starter and marshal at the Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake, Minn.
LINDA (PAULSEN) EDWARDS retired from teaching in the Olin (Iowa) Consolidated Schools and works as a substitute teacher in area schools.
SUSAN (RADTKE) EIPERT owns Eipert Information Services in Seattle, which specializes in scientific and technical research for industry and law.
CAROLE (VLAHOVICH) HEISEL of Glasford, Ill., retired as an educational administrator.
NANCY (ROEWERT) HOKANSON works for Lawson Bank in Excelsior Springs, Mo.
JEFF JOHNSON owns and serves as a broker at Arthur Grant Realty in Ramsey, Minn.
CORINNE (ANDERSON) MUELLER retired from Kenosha (Wis.) Unified Schools. She works part-time as a FOSS (Full Option Science System) science teacher consultant. Her first grandchild was born in March 2010.
RICHARD PERRY of Caledonia, Minn., left the Franciscan Skemp Waukon Clinic and Veterans Memorial Hospital to serve as a physician in South Australia for a year.
ROBERT PITEL is an instructor of mathematics at Globe University in Onalaska, Wis.
JACK RADDATZ is an artist in Bergen, Norway.
SYLVIA (WESELMANN) REX is a reference librarian at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.
ARMIN STEEGE is vice president of residential services at the Austin (Texas) Children’s Shelter
AARON STEGEMAN owns B&R Tractor in Ankeny, Iowa.
CRAIG THORSON is retired and living in Columbia, Mo.
TERRY TRIMPE is executive producer for the film 16 to Life, which premiered Aug. 29. The story revolves around two Midwestern girls’ quests for love and understanding on their 16th birthdays.
KENNETH VARLAND is regional wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in New Ulm, Minn.
JOHN WAHLQUIST directs the Rock Valley Master Chorale at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Ill.
CHERYL (EVANSEN) WHITE is principal trainer at the Midwest Barista School in Holland, Mich.
BOB WILLEY is a counselor at Basalt (Colo.) High School.
MARTHA (HALVORSON) WOODLING works as a coffee barista at Starbucks in Plano, Texas.
Susan D’Autremont, Eric Bunge ’84, Stef Dickens ’04, and Irene ErkenBrack ’05 appeared together in the Commonweal Theatre’s production of “Enchanted April” in Lanesboro, Minn., which ran June 18 through October 23.
Obituary
Karen Draeb Hays of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., died July 11, 2010, at age 61. She studied at the University of Valencia in Spain and graduated from Luther. Karen had been a Spanish teacher, literacy tutor, school volunteer, and stay-at-home mom. She enjoyed walking along Lake Michigan, reading, gardening, collecting pop-up books, and studying herbs of the Bible. Karen was a member of the United Methodist Women and PEO. She is survived by her husband, Robert; two children; four grandchildren; and her mother.
Marriage
CRAIG THORSON and Cyndi Kahn, Oct. 3, 2010
