EVERY GIFT
has a story
Every relationship has a story.
For Ben and Judy Kubischta, their story as a couple started with a blind date.
Ben was working in Bismarck at the time and Judy was in nursing school in Minot. This serendipitous meeting led to what was known back in the day as a ‘mixed marriage,’ that is, Catholic and Lutheran. For those whose memories don’t go back that far, that was indeed cause for consternation among many young couples’ parents – on both sides. Fortunately for Ben and Judy, by the time they decided to marry in 1973, they found a lovely way to incorporate both their faith traditions in the wedding ceremony. “A pastor in Judy’s rural parish knew the priest in Parshall,” Ben said. “They both were present at the wedding. That was a great ecumenical moment.”
During their married life, Judy returned to school at the University of Mary in 1986 to finish her degree. Ben had a longtime career with the North Dakota Department of Transportation. And the couple has three children, Eric, Erin, and Kelly. Ben is a familiar face at University of Mary athletic events, attending and assisting at so many sports events of all types that he could truly be called Mary’s super fan. Assisting at athletic events, such as recently timing at swim meets, is an amazing experience, Ben said. “You get close to the athletes. You could see their excitement, nervousness, emotions. It was personally exciting and fulfilling to witness that,” he said. 16
Momentum
Ben comes out for all sports; there’s not an athlete that doesn’t know him, Judy said. Every relationship has a story. The relationship between the Kubischtas’ scholarship and the University of Mary started with Mike Arnegard, former development officer at Mary. “He got us into a program, specifically the nursing scholarship,” Ben said. And at the couple’s 40th wedding anniversary, their daughter, Erin, said ‘let’s raise money here for [the] nursing scholarship,’ Judy said. So in 2013, those gifts became the seed money for the Ben and Judy Kubischta Scholarship.
