Class Notes

1956

Arnold Fredriksen of Rochester, Minn., participated in a Freedom Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., and toured the last fully operational WWII landing ship tank, the USS LST 325.

1958

Tom Wilkens of Georgetown, Texas, has published a book, Meditations on the Way: Looking Back in Faith, Looking Ahead in Hope, and—Above All—Looking Around in Love.

1960

Kathy (Fjone) Richardson of Cincinnati recently celebrated her successful surgery and radiation treatment for cancer with a 24-day trans-Atlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2. Kathy shared this adventure with her companion, Saul Schach, who celebrated his 100th birthday on the cruise. Kathy continues to take classes and teach memoir writing with the University of Cincinnati OLLI learning-in-retirement program.

1968

Donald Davidson of Wayzata, Minn., serves as an officer on the executive committee of the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association.

1969

Dean Johnson of Willmar, Minn., is retired after serving for 50 years as pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church in Willmar. During his career, Dean also served for four years in the Minnesota House of Representatives and for 24 years in the state senate. In addition, Dean was a chaplain in the Minnesota Army National Guard for 38 years and a member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents for 12 years.

1971

Denny Linderbaum is retired, following a 50-year fundraising career that culminated in leading the UnityPoint Health–Des Moines Foundation for the last 23 years.

Brian Snell of West Des Moines, Iowa, is retired after a 33-year career in teaching. Brian also served as the accompanist for the NIACC choirs and was organist and pianist at Mason City First United Methodist Church for 16 years.

1972

Kathy (Estenson) Carlson, a swim and dive coach for 32 years, was honored by the Shakopee (Minn.) school board when they renamed the Shakopee West Middle School pool complex the Kathy Carlson Aquatic Center.

1975

Mark Iverson is retired from teaching math and science for Arch Ford Educational Cooperative at the Crossett, Ark., ALE location.

1977

Tom Bahr is retired after serving for 44 years in the emergency department at St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan, Wis., and 19 years as a paramedic with the Orange Cross Ambulance Service. Tom continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member at Lakeshore Technical College, Public Safety Division, and is vice chair of the Sheboygan County Emergency Medical Services Council.

Sue (Avesing) Thone is retired following a 45-year career as a corporate paralegal, spending the last 23 years in corporate and securities law at FedEx Corporation.

1978

Linda Short of Moorhead, Minn., is retired from a singing and performing career and has turned to writing books: Wisps of Light: Where Christ and Culture Meet and Beams of Abundance: When Life Gives You Lemons, Squirt ’Em on Lobster.

1982

Tom Becher of Neenah, Wis., is retired following a career in teaching.

1983

Kathy (Hawley) Becher of Neenah, Wis., is retired following a career as a controller.

1984

Craig Gahnz-Kuhar of University Heights, Ohio, is retired after serving as a school and church choir director.

Pam (Christensen) Nelson of Duluth, Minn., is retired from teaching English as a second language to elementary students and enjoys hiking, biking, and living near Lake Superior.

1985

John Anderson of Washburn, Wis., was selected as associate dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College, which provides judicial education for all new judges in their first year and for all other judges who attend once every six years.

1986

Dave Reppe of Highlands Ranch, Colo., is national sales manager for E2 Optics in Englewood, Colo.

1987

Peter Hanson of Oullins, France, is mission pastor at United Protestant Church of France in Lyon.

1988

Stuart Arey is a physics and chemistry teacher at St. Paul (Minn.) Academy and Summit School.

1989

Scott Halverson was named the 2023 Winona (Minn.) Education Association’s Teacher of the Year. Scott teaches math at Winona Senior High School and has coached basketball, softball, and baseball.

Shari Prestemon of Eden Prairie, Minn., was named acting associate general minister for wider church ministries and co-executive for global ministries for the United Church of Christ.

1990

Brent Asplin of Barrington, Ill., is cofounder and chief executive officer of Gather Health.

Pete Lawrence of Strasburg, Colo., is retired following a career as a master trooper with the Colorado State Patrol.

Gretchen Olson Kopp of Spokane, Wash., completed an MDiv degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary and earned a graduate certificate in spiritual direction and directed retreat from Creighton University and is in ELCA candidacy for the ministry of word and sacrament. Gretchen is also associate chaplain with Providence–Sacred Heart Medical Center.

1991

Brad Skogen is associate with the bishop for congregational leadership and transition with the Eastern North Dakota Synod, ELCA.

1992

Debra Bullock of Niles, Ill., is a middle school science teacher at Science and Arts Academy in Des Plaines, Ill.

Wendy (Jaycox) Davidson of Wheaton, Ill., was named by the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council as one of the World’s Most Influential Decision Makers. She was also selected as one of CEO Connection’s 2023 Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market. Wendy, a Luther regent emerita, is president/CEO of the Hain Celestial Group.

Debbie (Hess) Smith of Denver, N.C., is senior director, product management with Ellucian.

Staci Sievert Zahn of Appleton, Wis., was featured in Forbes magazine for her work in revitalizing the technical education program at Seymour (Wis.) High School.

1994

Nicole Engdahl of Washington, D.C., is vice president for individual giving at the African Wildlife Foundation.

1995

Jennifer McKay of Sioux Falls, S.D., is a clinical specialist with Google Health.

Jon Ploetz is vice president—general counsel and secretary for Applied Industrial Technologies in Cleveland.

1996

Arne Hengesteg of Evanston, Wyo., was selected to represent the state of Wyoming as a 2023 James Madison Fellow. James Madison Fellowships support graduate studies with a concentration in history and the U.S. Constitution.

Sam Teigen of Hawthorne, N.J., is controller for the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

1997

George Hawkinson of Leawood, Kan., is a project manager with Burns and McDonnell.

1998

Nicole (Voss) Hawkinson is a pediatric dentist in Leawood, Kan.
Doug Ross of Wausau, Wis., is director of claims with Rural Mutual Insurance Company.

Ann (Bossard) Smith is assistant dean of student success and director of disability services at Luther College.

1999

Jake Eastman of San Francisco is a training and engagement specialist with the GLIDE Foundation.

Kurt Hoover of Joliet, Ill., serves as a trustee for the Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ.

2000

Chris Hofer of Surprise, Ariz., is a learning management system technologist with the College for Creative Studies.

Becki (Mensing) LeGrant of Bakersfield, Calif., earned a master’s degree in education administration and is an assistant principal at Wonderful Prep Academy in Delano, Calif.

2001

David Severtson is associate pastor at First Lutheran Church in Decorah.

Natalie (Van Vuren) Witt of Princeton, Texas, is director of social services at Princeton Medical Lodge.

2002

Molly (Krol) Sandgren of Champaign, Ill., is a family medical nurse practitioner with Christie Clinic.

2003

Josh Cinnamo of San Diego, Calif., won the gold medal in shot put at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Kelly (Moen) Farley is a middle school math teacher with the Decorah Community School District.

Brandon Fraseur is athletics and activities director at Seoul International School in South Korea.

Tim Hammond of Grinnell, Iowa, is associate dean for health and wellness and director of student health promotion at Grinnell College.

Andy Jolivette of Roseville, Minn., is director of alignment with North Oaks Financial Group and founder and coach at Align Coaching.

Kelsey Knutti of Rolling Meadows, Ill., is chief nursing officer at Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Katherine (Fletcher) Martinson of Naperville, Ill., completed a doctorate of nursing practice degree and is an advanced practice registered nurse with a specialty in certified nurse midwifery. Katie works as a senior research specialist with the University of Illinois–Chicago.

2004

Tim Arnold of Delano, Minn., is band director at Orono (Minn.) High School and was named as a quarter finalist for the 2024 Grammy Music Educator of the Year Award.

Barry Bosacker is school associate superintendent with the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nev.

Kelly (Arneson) Egan of Westgate, Iowa, is a middle school social studies teacher with the Waverly–Shell Rock Community Schools.

2006

Aaron Bohr of North Liberty, Iowa, is a special education teacher and assistant football coach at Center Point–Urbana High School.

Rachel (Ware) Carlton is associate vice president for academic affairs at Lakeland University in Plymouth, Wis.

Megan (Finnegan) Kelley is an assistant controller with Rose Financial Solutions in Bloomington, Minn.

Emily (Anderson) Shockley is communications coordinator with the Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colo.

Brie (Corfman) Taralson of New Ulm, Minn., is the owner of Lykke Books and founder of Lykke Communities, a nonprofit organization focused on building community connections.

Heather (Buckner) Wilensky of Coralville, Iowa, is a senior recruiter with the Bryant Group.

2007

Dana Roberts of Richfield, Minn., earned an MBA degree from Southern Utah University and serves as director of sales for Ameriprise Financial.

Tom Swenson of West Des Moines, Iowa, is an account executive with Access Systems.

2008

Kadra Abdi of Blaine, Minn., is director of local policy and field building with Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers and serves as a board member for the Center for Victims of Torture.

Drew Haefner of Davenport, Iowa, is assistant controller with IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union.

Eddie Holmvig-Johnson is a special education teacher with St. Paul (Minn.) City School and serves as chair of the Richfield (Minn.) Planning Commission.

Kristen (Learman) Stengl is a self-employed photographer and serves as a key spouse for the 41st RQS at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. Kristen is also a volunteer who fosters cats and dogs for the Humane Society of Valdosta Lowndes County.

Benjamin Yates, visiting associate professor of music at Luther, completed a dissertation on the history of the Luther College Concert Band. It is posted on his website at benjaminyatestrombone.com/wflccb.

2009

Erik Clark, copresident of Luther’s Black Alumni Association, has published a book series, Blunt Force Trauma: The Collection.

Alyson Gangstee of Eagan, Minn., earned an MBA from the University of St. Thomas (Minn.).

Peter McLellan of Covington, Ga., is program director for hunger education with the ELCA.

Jess (Boese) Purdie of Morristown, Minn., is a risk consultant with Federated Insurance.

Julian Stanke serves as principal at Birch Lake Elementary School in White Bear Lake, Minn.

2010

Douglas Junius is a 10th-grade world history teacher at ITW Speer Academy–Noble Street Charter School in Chicago. Douglas was honorably discharged after serving in the Illinois Army National Guard.

2011

Molly Andersen of Minneapolis is a showroom manager with Shaw, Inc.

Kate (Trigger) Duffert lives in Louisville, Ky., and is director of general assembly planning with Presbyterian Church (USA).

Steven Thai of Burnsville, Minn., is director of the Global Crisis and Issues Communications Center of Excellence with Cargill.

2012

Brandon Boles of Holmen, Wis., is an assistant store leader with Kwik Trip.

Doug Winkey earned a master’s degree in higher education–student affairs and serves as the assistant director of catering at Luther College.

2013

Shannon Curtis of Minneapolis, Minn., is director of bands at Zimmerman (Minn.) Middle and High School and was named as a quarter finalist for the 2024 Grammy Music Educator of the Year Award.

Tyler Hagy serves as director of choral activities at Iowa City (Iowa) High School and was awarded the Iowa City Community School District Shine Award.

Mari (Kise) Heimdal of Hopkins, Minn., is a speech and language pathologist.

Anna (DiCecco) and Micah Kust live in Houston, Texas, where Anna is partnership activation manager with the Houston Rockets and Micah serves as a team physical therapist for the Houston Dynamo FC.

Hannah Shatzer is an assistant professor of psychology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Caley (Danielson) Steinert of Chicago is an associate account manager with GainShare Performance Marketing.

Shannon (Koenders) Veldkamp of Elk River, Minn., is an optometrist and serves as the clinical director for Opening Eyes, Special Olympics Minnesota Healthy Athletes.

2014

Austen (Perry) and Benjamin Anderson live in Minneapolis, where Austen is an apprentice electrician with Laketown Electric Corporation and Benjamin is a math interventionist with Minneapolis Public Schools.

Sibu and Lucy (O’Connor) Dlamini live in Davenport, Iowa. Sibu is a controller with Central Scott Telephone. Lucy is a volunteer coordinator with Genesis Hospice’s Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House.

Jocelyn (Petersen) Kalal of Burnsville, Minn., is a first-grade teacher at Minnehaha Academy.

Rachel (Selvig) Lundeen of Otsego, Minn., is director of operations at FinElevate.

Andrea (Keuper) Pinder of Denton, Texas, is an adjunct instructor of music in voice at Texas Women’s University.

Derek Sturtevant is a high school choir director at Nansha College Preparatory Academy in Guangdong Province, China.

2015

Talia Barber-Powers of Minneapolis is a data scientist with Asset Marketing Services.

Alex Barker of Adel, Iowa, is director of sales and service with the Iowa Wolves.

Marlon Henriquez of Chicago is the principal at Frank W. Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy in Chicago.

Annika Ring of Hutchinson, Minn., earned a master’s degree in English with a specialization in teaching from Bowling Green State University and is a high school English teacher with the Hutchinson Public Schools.

2016

Lars Johnson was named Austin (Minn.) Public Schools 2023 Teacher of the Year. Lars teaches seventh- and eighth-grade art at Ellis Middle School.
Mitchell Knippenberg of St. Louis Park, Minn., is a network solutions specialist with United Health Group–Surest.

Logan Larson released an album, The Monster You Made, with his ensemble, Logarhythmic Collective. The album, which combines classical music with electronic dance music, features guest artists Wesley ’16 and Marissa (Eckberg) Frye ’17 of Frye Music Duo.

Nick Shaw of Minneapolis is portfolio manager with Rootstock Wine Co.

2017

Olivia (Toal) Keeton of Middleton, Wis., is a registered nurse with the Veterans Administration Hospital in Madison, Wis.

Anna Madrigal is a senior consultant with Cardamom Health in Madison, Wis.

2018

Tanner Gibbons of Westby, Wis., is a science teacher at West Salem High School.

Jordan Keeton lives in Middleton, Wis., and is a project manager with TCS Basys Controls.

Abigail (Colby) Knippenberg lives in St. Louis Park, Minn., and is an accountant II supervisor with the city of Minneapolis.

Sam Tollefson of Saint Paul, Minn., is an advancement and engagement associate with Great River Greening.

2019

Xavier Conzet and Tiwonge Chirwa live in Minneapolis, where Xavier is a data analyst with Optum and Tiwonge is a registered nurse with Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

Abigail (Korenchan) Conzett of St. Paul, Minn., is a K–5 music teacher at North Lakes Academy K8.

Anna (Foster) Haan of Rosemount, Minn., is an occupational therapist with Minnesota Autism Center.

Erin Halverson lives in Augusta, Ga., and serves as a casework assistant in the office of U.S. senator Jon Ossoff.

Jenny Hickey lives in Minneapolis and is a recruiter with Total Logistics.

James Miller of Brooklyn Park, Minn., is a senior web developer at Mayo Clinic.

Sam Naumann of Cedar Falls, Iowa, is a teacher with the Cedar Falls Community School District.

Garrett O’Connell is a band director with the St. Charles (Minn.) Public Schools.

Thomas Twiton of Madison, Wis., is a systems engineer with Epic Systems.

2020

Ali (Voigt) and Samuel Camacho live in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where Ali is a service advisor with Dan Deery Motors and Samuel is a business development representative with Mudd Advertising.

Jorge Chavez of Alpharetta, Ga., serves as an ORISE mycotic research fellow with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Morgan Fanning of Portsmouth, N.H., is marketing and sales coordinator with Stoneface Brewing Co.

Izzi Lockheimer Toso of St. Louis Park, Minn., is a language and literature teacher with Hopkins Public Schools.

Meghan Sickel of Rosemount, Minn., earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities and serves as a metro district senior epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health.

Daniel Suhr is admissions operations and communications specialist at Des Moines (Iowa) Area Community College.

Dirk Umbanhowar of Arlington, Va., is a research associate with Senate Majority PAC.

2021

Rebekah Riedemann of Ankeny, Iowa, completed a year of national service with AmeriCorps, National Civilian Community Corps, as a team leader.

2022

Faye Duster of Duluth, Minn., is a sustainability project coordinator for Northeast Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships.

Kristen Flathers of Madelia, Minn., is the children’s service coordinator at Watonwan County Library.

Julia Lassner lives in Iowa City, Iowa, and is an application analyst at the University of Iowa.

Kirsten Loynachan of Kansas City, Mo., is assistant orchestra personnel manager with the Kansas City Symphony.

2023

Lilli Carlson of Grand Marais, Minn., is a children and family services social worker with Cook County Public Health and Human Services.

Navia Erbst-Ayauna of Davenport, Iowa, is a digital marketing coordinator with Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors.

Sydney Frank is an executive assistant with the YWCA of La Crosse (Wis.).

Spencer Gillian lives in Albertville, Minn., and is a choir teacher with the Monticello Public Schools.

Isaac Habben of Fulda, Minn., is a credit analyst with First National Bank in Fulda.

Alexis Johnson of Draper, Utah, is a fifth-grade teacher with the Canyons School District.

Madeline Starck of Lafayette, La., is a graduate assistant at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is working toward a master’s degree in music composition.

Anna Thomley lives in Dubuque, Iowa, and is a marketing analyst with Cottingham and Butler.

Lauren Whitney of Omaha, Neb., is a research technologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Zoe Wood of West Des Moines, Iowa, is a human resources generalist with Ag Express Electronics in Des Moines.