Fall 2016

Dear Classmates,

Homecoming 2016 is in the books, which means it’s time to begin planning for Homecoming 2017, which will include our 25-year reunion celebration! How can that be possible?

Our 25-year reunion will be celebrated over the weekend of October 6-8, 2017. A reunion planning committee has been formed and met for the first time in late October on the Luther campus. Please join me in thanking the following classmates who have volunteered their time for the reunion planning effort!

The celebration will begin on Friday evening when we’ll gather in the Underground at T-Bock’s, where we began our 20^th reunion celebration. We’ll meet again at T-Bock’s on Saturday morning for breakfast and parade watching. Special thanks to Dominique (Eells) Bockman for making T-Bock’s available to us during what I know is already a very, very busy Homecoming weekend! We plan to watch the Homecoming football game from the Oneota Market end of the Union patio. Our celebration will culminate with the 25-year reunion dinner (and dance?) at Oneota Golf and Country Club on Saturday evening.

Of course, Homecoming weekend also includes a full agenda of other activities and events that may attract your attention. Among the many events on Friday are Homecoming Chapel, an alumni golf event, jazz at Marty’s, and the Distinguished Service Award presentations. Alumni athletic events, a pre-game tailgate, and the Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony are just a few of Saturday’s non-football high points. You might begin your Sunday at the Festival Eucharist or attend the Homecoming Concert featuring the Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, and Nordic Choir.

In addition to their efforts in planning a full weekend of activities, the reunion planning committee members have been reaching out to classmates over the past several weeks to extend a personal invitation to the reunion, provide lodging information, and verify contact information. A second round of contacts will occur in February and March to share additional information including details regarding the reunion-giving campaign.

In non-reunion related news, Luther welcomed 552 new students this fall, with 525 first-year students and 27 transfer students. Unfortunately, total enrollment remains soft with approximately 2,150 enrolled students this fall, down from a high of about 2,500 several years ago. As you might imagine, the lower enrollment is creating some budgetary pressures. Even in the face of these pressures, the college continues to address new opportunities, including the recent introduction of two new majors: data science and neuroscience. These new majors draw upon existing faculty strengths and hope to satisfy the growing demand for students in these fields.

Given the enrollment challenges, your support of Luther is more important than ever. As always, I encourage you to consider joining me in making a gift to our alma mater as we approach the close of 2016! All gifts made between June 1, 2016, and May 31, 2018, will be included in our reunion-giving campaign totals.

With warm wishes for a blessed holiday season,

Craig Rabe
1992 Class Agent
[email protected]

Class Notes

Scott Bemus is a physician at OB-GYN Associates P.C. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Wendy (Jaycox) Davidson is president of U.S. Special Channels at Kellogg Company in Elmhurst, Ill., and was named the board chair of the Women’s Foodservice Forum.

Eric Dodd of Rock Island, Ill., was inducted into the Thrivent Financial Hall of Fame at Thrivent’s annual conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Suzanne Greene of Plymouth, Minn., is enterprise account executive at VMTurbo.

Kristin (Hohnbaum) Klein earned a master’s degree in teaching from National Louis University. She teaches science at Matthews Middle School in Island Lake, Ill.

Kirsten (Rydeen) Lewis earned a master’s degree in education from Viterbo University. She is operations coordinator at ChildServe in Johnston, Iowa.

Jodi (Sisson) Picou of Wasilla, Alaska, works for Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.

Dean Rossow is team lead at Infor in St. Paul, Minn.

Anne (Potter) Walters was named senior fiduciary officer at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis.

Jennifer Weuve is associate professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health.

Kelli (Dunne) Winchester is the new owner of Margaret’s Boutique in Decorah.

Marriage

ERIC MONSON and Yuki Ip, Oct. 17, 2014

Birth

KIRSTEN (RYDEEN) and JON LEWIS ’91 welcomed a daughter, Darrah, in July 2005. Darrah joins sisters, Kennedy and Anslee.

Obituary

David Ose of McCallsburg, Iowa, died July 29, 2015, at age 48. He grew up in Overland Park, Kan., and graduated in 1985 from Shawnee Mission South High School. David enrolled at Iowa State University to study agri-marketing, agronomy, and animal science. In 1986 he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving honorably in its 7th and 12th Special Forces groups. While serving in the Army Reserves, David completed a bachelor’s degree at Luther, majoring in management. While at Luther, he also met his future wife, Amy (Drewis) Ose ’93, and they were married July 25, 1998, in Telluride, Colo. Amy and David made their home in Overland Park and in Fergus Falls, Minn., before moving to the Ose Farm in McCallsburg in 2003. He enjoyed music, woodworking, fishing, hunting, scuba diving, traveling, and spending time with his dogs, Sinda, Mallik, and Sadie. He will be remembered for his charismatic personality, strong convictions, and the endearing way he loved and cared for his family, especially his parents. David is survived by his wife, Amy (Drewis) Ose ’93; mother, Mary Ann Ose; siblings, Carol (David) Ose-Diehl and Kevin (Marijo) Ose; four nephews; three nieces; and mother- and father-in-law, two uncles, seven aunts, many cousins, and a host of friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Odale Ose; his grandparents; and many aunts and uncles.