Spring 2020
Dear Members of the Class of 1963,
Like colleges all over the country (and the world), Luther College is experiencing a spring semester like no other. Our students have just finished their spring break and are participating in remote learning, connecting with their professors and classmates online. It certainly isn't the spring semester we imagined but Luther is responding with resiliency and creativity.
Many of us are making adjustments, sometimes daily or even hourly, to these uncertain times but we wanted to connect with you and to send you Mary's lovely letter that she wrote to you, the Class of 1963, just weeks before we became immersed in the COVID-19 pandemic. We think you'll enjoy reading what she has to share!
We hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy during these times. For updated information about Luther's response to the pandemic, visit
luther.edu
Many thanks for your steadfast love and support.
Mariah Bringer Smith ‘95
Director of Development, Current Gifts
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Dear Classmates of ’63:
I’m back from a literal sabbatical: I believe 7 years have passed since I handed over the Class Agent assignment to Patti McCullough Edwards. Thank you, Patti, for capably keeping us current on Luther doings and people until now.
About a year ago I asked the Alumni office for a crack at the 1963 email list, wishing to share with you the news of Phyllis Dankers Yes’s success as a playwright. I found I enjoyed sending you some good news and when the Class Agent post went vacant, I thought, “Why not take this up again?” So here I am, hoping you will come forward with news but also with thoughts, memories, questions, observations, even wisdom—which purportedly comes with old age. Our Luther College history together gave us a common starting point for our adult life in the world. In Africa the bond with “age-mates” is taken very seriously, so we are ideally placed to support and inspire each other to continue doing all the good we can.
Writing of Phyllis prompted me to email her asking about the fortunes of her
Good Morning, Miss America
since it left the Decorah Opera House for New York.
The play developed from Phyllis’s own experience coping at long distance with her mother’s dementia. Phyllis’s reply to my email attests to the value of age-mates: Is there a single member of the Class of 1963
not
coping with dementia—-in self or spouse or siblings or dearest friends?
Her theatre success has resulted in unforeseen possibilities for good. Let me share some of her reply:
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Opening night in New York City….The standing ovation is something I’ll never forget. In the audience were friends from Oregon, from the Peace Corps (from over 50 years ago), and many strangers. The audience response was heartwarming. They laughed in the right places and related to the family situation in the play.
Four months before the New York performances, there was a staged reading in my hometown of Austin, Minn. at the Paramount Theatre, where I worked in high school. In the audience was a geriatric doctor from the Mayo Clinic named Cory Ingram. He loved the play so much that he offered to talk to audiences after performances wherever the play was performed. He flew to New York and gave talk-backs for three nights. Many families expressed their gratitude to the doctor for helping them cope with parents and other friends and relatives who have dementia.
At this time, Dr. Ingram and I are teaming up to find organizations in communities throughout the U.S. who would like to start conversations about dementia/ Alzheimers. Rather than expensive full productions of the play, we’re suggesting the possibility of staged or un-staged readings. They are very effective in bringing the story to life and create awareness and encourage good planning. They can contact me via email at
yes@lclark.edu
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A theatre piece fortuitously turning into a community resource!
We have been pleased to hear and meet Luther’s new president, Dr. Jenifer K. Ward. We are impressed with her energy, quick humor, and articulate analysis of the challenges facing Luther, and in fact all colleges fitting the description “private,” “small,” “far from urban centers,” “historically liberal-arts-centered” and
expensive
by comparison with state and community colleges or online degree-grantors.
We weren’t able to go to Decorah for Dr. Ward’s inauguration last November. We hated to miss that, most of all because her
mother,
a jazz pianist, joined Luther’s jazz players for a concert on the eve of the ceremony! We also applauded her planning of the weekend, devoting Friday to the town of Decorah: Luther is your college, Decorah is our town! I recommend you read the
Chips
interview with Dr. Ward by clicking
here
, which generously shows off her lively personality, her goals, and her sense of humor.
Here are some new things the College is doing to meet the challenges mentioned above:
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New Global Health major, a timely addition to the curriculum as the coronavirus pushes even the political news to second place. I’m proud to see Michael Osterholm (Luther ’75, current Luther Regent) appearing frequently on national news programs in his capacity as Director of the University of MN’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. He’s also the one who can justly say, “I told you so” since his 2017 book
Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs.
Learn more about the Global Health major by clicking
here
.
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Further area connections: Luther’s Social Work program now offers a BA degree path to holders of the 2-year AA in Social Work from the NE Iowa Community College. Learn more
here
.
I’m always inspired and gratified to see the listing of Luther donors from our class, especially to see how many of you give year after year to support the college that gave us so much. THANK YOU!
I look forward to hearing
your
news—-travel? Reunions of Luther friends? A new interest, career even? Reading a transforming book?
Bon courage
, as the French say.
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Mary Preus
1963 Class Agent
1723 Carl Street
Saint Paul MN 55113-5213
612-845-8594
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CLASS NOTES
John Eggers
of Bemidji, Minn., retired after teaching for 55 years. He currently serves as founder and director of Project Graduate, which has a goal of 100% graduation rate for all students in Beltrami County - the only county in the U.S. with such a goal. John was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uruguay, taught in Iran, and served as a professor at the University of Northern Iowa. He is the author of 21 books and is a volunteer for the Red Lake Nation.
OBITUARIES
Sylvia Ann (Kaasa) Jerdee
of Red Wing, Minn., died Jan. 21, 2020, age 78.
Joan “Joey” Ellen (Runnestrand) Mulholland
of Marshfield, Wis., died Feb. 1, 2020, age 78.
Gary Loren Skundberg
of Kenyon, Minn., died Sept. 19, 2019, age 78.
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