Alumni News
CLASS NOTES
1943 Albert Nassen of Dallas celebrated 70 years of ordination last September. 1952 Harold Peterson sings
Class of 1964 Pi Sig members and spouses gather for 18th year Luther President Paula Carlson and Rev. Dr. Thomas Schattauer joined 15 Luther couples for dinner at the Chase Hotel in Walker, Minn., on Sept. l7, 2015, the first night of their annual four-day gathering. This was the 18th gathering of the class of 1964 Luther friends who were Pi Sig members or honorary members. The gathering included a day at Itasca Park, a tour of Concordia College Language Villages near Bemidji, and time on Kabekona Lake, and it closed with a Sunday worship service at Trinity Lutheran in Laporte, Minn., where Maddy (Preus) Lawrence ’64 is the organist and choir director. Tom ’64 and Maddy Lawrence and Luther ’64 and Marilyn Nervig hosted the group. Next year the group is scheduled to gather in Kansas City and will be hosted by Dennis ’64 and Suzanne Birkestrand. The class of l964 set a Luther College record for its 50th class reunion with a class gift of $2,045,338. Class of 1964 Pi Sig gathering, back row (left to right): Linda (Ladd) Messer ’64, Steve Messer ’64, Bonnie (Curtis) Behnken’ 64, Barry Behnken, Dick Edwards ’64, Donna (Wangsness) Weigle ’64, Jim Weigle, President Paula Carlson. Front row (left to right): Linda Matter, Jim Matter ’64, Pat (McCullough) Edwards ’63, Judy (Larson) Fogdall ’65, Jim Fogdall ’64, Thomas Schattauer.
Luther alumni and friends participated in the January tour titled In the Footsteps of Egeria: A Holy Land Pilgrimage to Places, Peoples, and Peace, through Wartburg Theological Seminary. This photo was taken at the Church of the Beatitudes on the Sea of Galilee and near the ancient Christian town of Tabgha. Front row (left to right): Elinor (Nelson) Llewellyn ’63, Jane Kemp, and Marilyn (Miller) Anderson ’62. Back row (left to right): Dave Llewellyn, George Orness ’67, Carole (Rust) Orness ’69, Duane Everson ’62, and tour leader Rev. Dr. Thomas Schattauer.
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Luther Alumni Magazine
in the ALC Celebration Choir and in SATB and TTBB quartets, plays in the ALC Bell Choir, and narrates the Sun City Concert Band and West Valley Pops Band. He preaches three Sundays per year at Sunflower RV Park and serves on the executive resident board at Royal Oak Life Care Community in Sun City, Ariz.
from 1968 to 1998 and made six appearances at the IBA and MMEA conventions in Iowa and Minnesota. James Ringlien is retired in Maumee, Ohio. Cynthia (Vasey) Smith of Steuben, Wis., writes a weekly column, “Kickapoo Ramblings,” for mwnews.net.
1959 Linda (Switzer) Lasota of Athens, Ala., sings with the Huntsville Community Chorus. 1963 James Ricketts retired as director of the Virginia Beach (Va.) Convention and Visitors Bureau, capping a 42-year career with the city. 1965 Thomas Kruse is
retired and narrates audiobooks and commercials for Tom Kruse Voice Over in Brookfield, Wis.
1961 Jake Bostrom of Menomonie, Wis., was inducted into the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Champions, becoming the first person from Wisconsin to receive the honor. Others in the fivemember 2015 class included Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, and NBA star Bobby Jones.
Tom Haugen of Decorah was selected from nominees in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan to be honored by the National Federation of State High School Associations for his distinguished service to American high school music programs. He is a music education student teacher supervisor at Luther College. Prior to his current position, he was a high school band director for 38 years in Minnesota and Iowa. His concert and jazz bands received top ratings in all state, regional, and national contests
Paul Olsen is professor of English and men’s cross-country and track and field head coach at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. Olsen was featured in an article in Runner’s World for coaching cross-country at Augustana for 50 years last November. In March, Olsen was the keynote speaker at the annual Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Norse Awards at Luther College and honored as the inaugural recipient of the Alumni Coach of the Year Award. Gary Peer of Spring Hill, Kan., is a professional wildlife photographer. His photos can be found at westernimagesphotography.zenfolio.com.
1966 John Bodensteiner is
professor of neurology and pediatrics and consultant in child and adolescent neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
1968 Richard Boyum teaches at Senior College in Asheville, N.C.