Fall 2009

Dear Friend,

I have a simple question for you…”Are you helping to sustain Luther College?”

Recently Luther was named one of the nation’s top colleges and universities in sustainability initiatives on the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, issued by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.  Luther was one of 26 institutions to receive a grade of an “A-” or higher and receive the recognition of an Overall College Sustainability Leader.  Since 2007, Luther has included sustainability in its strategic plan for daily living and learning.  Helping to inspire a life-long sustainability ethic in every student is a cornerstone for college leaders.

Living “green” is not just a catchy phrase, but more importantly a way of living for many of us.  The many things both big and small that you and your family do everyday can impact our world in ways that many of us can not even fathom.  Let me now ask you to think about sustainability not just ecologically, but also financially.

The easiest way to help sustain Luther is a gift to the Annual Fund.  By the time you read this letter, you might have received a call from the annual “Phonathon” fundraising campaign.  Did you pledge a gift of sustainability this year?  If you did, THANK YOU!  A gift of any size is encouraged and appreciated.  It is imperative that the class of 2000 continue to be leaders in our annual giving percentages.  (I urge you to go to givenow.luther.edu and make your gift.)

This past year we rose 3 percent with a total of 23.01 percent of us pledging to sustain Luther financially.  Next year let’s plan for 100 percent participation; it may be a stretch, but the once-a-month treat that you usually splurge on could very easily be given to our Alma Mater instead.  Remember ANY gift, no matter the size, is crucial in helping to sustain Luther in a time when public and private institutions are feeling the budget crunch.  Matching gifts are also a great way to get more bang for your buck.  Contact your office of human resources for matching gift forms. 

As many high school junior and senior students across the country are narrowing down their college search, the allure of an environmentally savvy and sustainability-minded campus will persuade some to come to Luther.  It is up to us to help financially sustain Luther so that the next generation of Luther students can reap the benefits of attending the amazing institution that we have come to know and love.

On a side note, please mark your calendar for our upcoming 10-year reunion…October 8-10, 2010!  Go to http://www2.luther.edu/about/decorah for lodging information.

Best wishes to you and your family!

 

Jenn (Potter) Walker
2000 Class Agent
[email protected]

Megan (Helling) Wildemuth
2000 Class Agent
[email protected]

Class Notes
LORI (STORK) ’99 and BRENT RYAN live in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Brent completed residency in internal medicine and became board certified; he is a hospitalist at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

JASON CARVALHO is ministry of justice-human resources directorate for PA Louise Wilson and Mike Baker in London, United Kingdom.

JIM COX earned a master’s degree in education from St. Mary’s University and is a choir teacher at Lakeville (Minn.) South High School.

MARIE CROSS is a registered nurse at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

DARRIN DOWELL works in technology support at Wells Fargo Financial in Ankeny, Iowa.

KATIE GREEN is assistant women’s basketball and volleyball coach at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

KAARIN (BABCOCK) JACOBSON teaches fourth grade for the Jefferson County Public Schools in Golden, Colo.

ERIN ERB JENSEN ’99 and DAVID JENSEN live in Ardmore, Pa. David is a surgical trauma ICU registered nurse at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

BEN A. JOHNSON earned fellowship in the Society of Actuaries and is an actuarial consultant for Towers Perrin in Edina, Minn.

ELISABETH (MARVIN) KLINE is a fraternal and marketing director for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Minneapolis.

JILL (COOPER) and ELI LARSON live in Waukesha, Wis., Jill is a family physician at ProHealth Care - Medical Associates; Eli is a small animal veterinarian at Pewaukee Veterinary Services.

CHARLIE LEONARD is the owner of the Bookcase of Wayzata (Minn). He is also the founder and executive director of Blue Water Theatre Company, a non-profit youth theatre organization in the Lake Minnetonka area.

LAURI LILLIE earned a master of science degree in applied anthropology from the University of North Texas in Denton.

ANDREA (WORKMAN) and ADAM MATZ live in Holmen, Wis. Andrea is a stay-at-home mom; Adam is pharmacy manager for the Target Corporation in Onalaska, Wis.

BARIS MESTANOGULLARI is trading systems manager for the Chicago Trade Company in New York.

LEAH ROHLFSEN earned a doctorate in sociology from Arizona State University and is an assistant professor at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. She received the 2008 Susan B. Anthony Aetna Award for excellence in research on older women and public health. The award, given by the Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association, recognized her paper "Older Adults and Issues of Depressive Symptoms and Alcohol Use: Gender Disparities in Mental Health." Based on a chapter in her dissertation, the paper assessed gender differences in trajectories of mental, functional, and self-rated health among older adults using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study.

TARA (HENDERSON) SCHILLING is director of KinderCare Learning Center in Madison, Wis.

AMANDA (RISK) and ROBBIE SMALLING ’02 live in St. Louis Park, Minn. Amanda  is a mental health program coordinator at West Suburban Teen Clinic in Excelsior, Minn.

ANDREW STEFFENSMEIER earned a doctor of medicine degree from the University of Iowa.  He is an ophthalmologist at Des Moines Eye Surgeons in West Des Moines, Iowa.

JENNY (BLOXHAM) STEGEN is a certified physician assistant at the Gundersen Lutheran–Waukon (Iowa) Clinic.

MICAH TAINTOR is project manager for construction of medical office buildings at Ymker Building, LLC in Ankeny, Iowa.

JODI WENNER earned certification in data-driven decision making from Minnesota State University-Mankato.  She teaches second grade at South Elementary School in St. Peter, Minn.

TODD WOJCHIK is a mental health specialist at Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wis.

JANE (McDERMOTT) ’02 and KENNY WHEELER live in Bettendorf, Iowa. Kenny works in admissions at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and coaches track at Pleasant Valley Community High School.

Births
MINDY (LENSING) and Bill Bunn welcomed a daughter, Lily, in Oct. 2008.  Lily joins brother Henry (2).

KATIE (STARK) and Jason Crichton welcomed a son, Charlie, in May 2008.  Charlie joins sister Margaret (3).

MEGAN (MATTINGLY) '01 and JIM COX welcomed twin daughters, Kadence  and Sabrina  in Feb. 2009.  Kadence and Sabrina join sisters Ashlyn (5) and Aubrie (2).

KATIE (BRUNNER) and STEVE ELLINGSON '98 welcomed a daughter, Lilly, in March 2009.  Lilly joins sister Grace (6).

KATIE (AARESTAD) and PATRICK FERGUS welcomed a son, Henry, in April 2009.  Henry joins brother Wesley (2).

DANIELLE (JURJEVICH) and Aaron Friedlein welcomed a daughter, Hannah, in May 2008.              

SARA (DONHOWE) and Joshua Goldberg welcomed a daughter, Amelia, in Sept. 2009.  Amelia joins sister Charlotte (2).

DEBBIE (HODSON) and ERIC HENDERSON '94 welcomed a daughter, Gabrielle, in Oct. 2008.   

KIM (EVERSON) and Mark Hildreth welcomed a daughter, Zoie, in Sept.  2008.        

ERIN ERB JENSEN '99 and DAVID JENSEN welcomed a daughter, Eliza, in Jan. 2009.         

JEN (FILTEAU) '99 and ERIC LAHAIE welcomed a son, Kai, in May 2009.  Kai joins brother Zephrin (2).

RACHEL (FORDE) '99 and BRIAN LARSON welcomed a daughter, Elise in Sept. 2008.  Elise joins sister Brynn (3).

Laura and JARROD LEDER welcomed a daughter, Gretchen, in June 2009.          

NICOLE (RYERSON) and Bob Lemke welcomed a daughter, Macy, in March  2009.          

AIMEE (WURZBERGER) and JOEL MIRON '99 welcomed a son, Henry, in April 2009.  Henry joins sister Adelaide (3).

ANGIE (SPARTZ) and Pat O'Keefe welcomed a son, James, in April 2009.  James joins brothers Matthew (4) and Luke (2).

AMANDA (HOFFMANN) and Clay Peterson welcomed a son, Liam, in Jan. 2009.    

ELIZABETH (BRAMMER) and Kevin Reiter welcomed a son, Patrick, in Aug. 2008.        

ANGIE (JOHNSON) '01 and ADAM RICHARDS welcomed a son, Parker, in June 2008.  Parker joins sister Calleigh (3).

TARA (HENDERSON) and Mark Schilling welcomed a son, Daniel, in Dec. 2007.  

HEIDI (REBISCHKE) and COREY SCHNEIDER welcomed a son, Hayden, in Aug.  2008.   

CASSIDY (JOHNSON) and Andrew Steiner welcomed a daughter, Penelope, in July  2008.     

JENNIFER (BOVEE) and BEN STANERSON welcomed a son, Erik, in March  2009.           

Tess and MICHA TAINTOR welcomed a son, Kenan, in Nov. 2006.

JAIME (ROWE) and MATT TITUS '01 welcomed a daughter, Olivia, in Sept. 2008.  

JEAN (HOLLINGSWORTH) and Alex Todd welcomed a daughter, Alexandra, in Sept.  2008.  Alexandra joins sister Natalie (4).

SARA (NICOLAISON) and Justin Yotter welcomed a son, Nickolas, in Nov.2008.    

AMY (WESTLAND) and KYLE WILLKOMM '99 welcomed twin daughters, Elizabeth and Vivian, in Feb. 2009.  Elizabeth and Vivian join sisters Anna (6), Lucia (5), and Darby (3).

ROZLYN (GABRIELSON) '99 and ANDY WIRTZ welcomed a son, Elijah, in April  2009.  Elijah joins brother Caleb (6) and sister Isabella (3).

Marriages
JENNIFER BRADEN and James Dunne, July 3, 2009
KARA SABATKE and Bino Duran, Sept. 27, 2008
CHRISTINE WILLIAMS and Jeremy Hinz, May 9, 2009
KAARIN BABCOCK and Tim Jacobson, Sept. 27, 2008
BEN KESELEY and Meredith Lovell, June 13, 2009
JULIE PERRAULT and Jeff LaSota, April 25, 2009
HEIDI TORGERSON and Marcelo Martinez, April 4, 2009
JENNY CARLSON and Nicholas Witter, April 18, 2009

Obituary
JASON HAGEMAN of West Palm Beach, Fla., died June 18, 2009 at age 31. Fascinated by history and politics, he graduated from Luther with a major in history. He completed a master’s degree in education in 2003. As an educator, Jason took on challenging positions, teaching history and social studies in inner city Chicago as well as in South Carolina and Florida. Jason also served young people as a basketball and tennis coach. He recently helped two of his Chicago students win a national essay contest that earned them the opportunity to meet President Obama at his inauguration. When it became clear the school had insufficient funds to send the students to Washington, D.C., Jason raised the money to ensure that his students would not miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He is survived by his wife, Natalie; two sons; his father and step-mother; a brother, PATRICK HAGEMAN ’98; and three sisters.  He was preceded in death by his mother.