Fall 2009
Hi to All 1980 Alums,
It’s been a busy year for me as a tax manager with a public accounting firm in Deerfield, Ill. Seems like the deadlines never end – I go from March 15th to April 15th to May 15th to July 31st, then September 15th, October 15th, and finally November 15th before it all starts over again. I guess we had some of those same deadlines when we were Luther students. Do you recall being anxious over the tests and final exams we had back then? It seems like only yesterday in some ways and like years ago, in others. Many of you have children that are or have been in college. I imagine you were able to share some of those old feelings with them.
Do you cherish those memories? Do you appreciate the education you received at Luther? Do you remember the friends you made at Luther? The teachers you had? Here is a list of the classmates that are no longer with us:
Wayne Rohde—1/1/1987
Joel Rumme—3/25/2000
Mark Smith—2/12/1998
Shelley (Harman) Usgaard—10/15/1999
Scot Vaillancourt—10/26/2004
Gail Van Fossen—4/8/2009
Dan Bachelder—10/4/2008
Brigette Bergan—1/1/1981
Jim Cochran—11/14/2005
David Doba—10/18/2006
Randi (Sundet) Griner—8/17/2005
Susan Kuempel—12/11/2006
Clint Markusch—6/18/2009
Larry Kurtenbach—3/21/2006
Would you consider making a gift to Luther in their memory? Can you also send us your memories of these folk as well, so we can share them at homecoming next year?
Annual giving and alumni participation in giving are critical to maintaining the level of education that Luther is known for. All gifts, large or small, make a difference and have an important impact on the college and its students. Charitable foundations and corporations, such as those that have contributed in the past, consider your annual gift a vote of confidence in your college. When you give, there’s a better chance that they will give.
As a class, 118 of us gave to Luther between June 1, 2008, and May 31, 2009. That’s a giving percentage of almost 28 percent. And our class was second in the top 10 for total gifts to the Annual Fund during the same period. A big thank you to all who gave. Can we make 30 percent this year? It’s easy to make a gift online at givenow.luther.edu.
A matching gift program is a great way to double, or even triple, the impact of a contribution to Luther. Please check with your human resources department or check the Luther website at www.matchinggifts.com/luther to search for your employer.
Fall class agent letters will now be posted to the web and spring sent letters by postal mail. If you have not shared your email address with the college, please do so by either sending a message to [email protected] or by signing on to the online alumni directory at https://www2.luther.edu/alumni/directory/. Be sure to add [email protected] to your address book to allow message through your spam blocker. And don’t forget to keep us updated on the events in your life as well.
Best wishes to you and your families for a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year.
Valerie J. Anderson Jones
1980 Class Agent
[email protected]
Chip Peterson
1980 Class Agent
[email protected]
Class Notes
TOM FROHLING works in the film and television industry in Los Angeles.
TOM MAAKESTAD was awarded the Pennisula Art Center’s 2008 Utrecht Award during the Plein Air Festival in Door Country, Wis. The festival is a national, invitation-only event featuring 40 artists from around the United States.
LINDA (BOWERS) MATTHEWS is owner and operator of Academic Associates Reading Clinic in Port Jervis, N.Y.
GREG ORWOLL of Dubuque, Iowa, is the leader of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps, which was chosen to perform at the January 20, 2009, presidential inauguration.
LISSA (ALECKSON) POHLMAN works in sales for Kephart’s Music in Mason City, Iowa.
CHRIS (ALTHUIS) SCHAFER is college librarian and director of the Vogel Library at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
JONATHAN TEMTE of Oregon, Wis., is a faculty physician at the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine. He was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve a four-year term on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Marriages
ERIC BECKMAN and Elizabeth Storey, July 3, 2009
KATE MIDTGAARD and Larry Framke, Dec. 27, 2008
Comments
Work as an ER physician in Cape Girardeau, MO. Two adult daughters. One married with a new Granddaughter Zoe. Husband Andrew works at home as a computer consultant for American Express.
12/19/2009
I am married,with two smart and lovely daughters--19 and 21 years old, sophmore and junior in college. I am a mortgage professional in Lexington, Kentucky, doing well with all of the market changes--an exciting and challenging time.