The purpose of Concordia College is to influence the affairs of the world
by sending into society thoughtful and informed men and women
dedicated to the Christian life.
June 2014
Dear Class of 1969,
When I attended a volunteer meeting on campus this spring, a highlight was listening as
President Craft enthusiastically gave examples of alumni, faculty, and students who
demonstrate the mission statement of Concordia printed above. His examples of alumni
included a retired health CEO leading First 5 California (more from George Halvorson in
Class Notes), a sustainability farmer, and a writer of a prairie memoir. He spoke of
professors who have written books, worked with NASA, and won baseball games or
Grammys. He mentioned a student vocalist who is a Fulbright scholar, a group of
business and science majors working to develop and market a heart monitoring device
in Cameroon, and a Cobber who had a special experience introducing the Dalai Lama at
a Nobel Peace Prize Forum. It was inspiring to hear the range of experiences available
through Concordia’s liberal arts programs and the opportunity for students to develop
many talents and participate in activities and interdisciplinary projects outside of their
major. I hope you’ll return to campus at Homecoming this fall to appreciate our college
days, reconnect with classmates, and see the growth and improvements on campus.
Reunion Plans
It’s time to plan to attend our 45th reunion in October! Here is a list to help you get ready:
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Clear your calendar for October 10-12.
Make plans for overnight in the Fargo/Moorhead area. A block of rooms is
reserved at the Courtyard by Marriott Moorhead. Call (218) 284-1000 and ask for
the Concordia College 2014 Class Reunion Block. The deadline to reserve is
September 1.
Join our Facebook page Concordia Class of 1969 for additional communication.
Call or email former roommates and friends to make sure they are coming.
Find and polish your class ring; or are you wearing it?
Start practicing Stand Up and Cheer and Hymn to Concordia.
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Jog your memory looking at the 1969 Cobber yearbook, checking Concordian
archives online, or finding personal photographs of those years.
Homecoming Event Highlights
Friday, October 10
7 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Saturday, October 11
8 a.m.
11 a.m.
1 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
8:30 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Sunday, October 12
10:30 a.m.
All class hospitality gathering
Courtyard by Marriott, Moorhead
Reunion breakfast (on campus)
Parade down Eighth Street
Cobber Football vs. Carleton
Homecoming Concert
Class of 1969 gathering
Courtyard by Marriott, Moorhead
All Campus Worship
Memorial Auditorium
Campus News
The Celebration of Student Scholarship on April 9, 2014 was a daylong event
honoring student research, scholarship, and creative experiences. Events included
paper presentations, posters sessions, music and theatre performances, an alumni
panel, as well as an awards reception. Check out the variety of abstracts at:
http://concordiacollege.edu/files/resources/celebration-abtracts-2014.pdf
The Concordia Orchestra completed an historic tour of the Holy Land in May 2014,
performing in Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jerusalem.
On May 5, 2014, the baseball field was named in honor of 36-year Head Coach Bucky
Burgau, who is stepping down at the end of the 2014 season. Burgau recently became
the first coach in the history of the MIAC to earn his 700th career win. He has the 12th
most wins of any active coach in all of NCAA Division III.
The Update the Jake Project has reached completion. The official dedication for
several upgrades and a multi-sports locker room will be at Homecoming 2014.
Concordia Language Villages will be dedicating the new Swedish library during the
midsummer celebration on August 3, 2014. A reception to welcome home alumni will be
held in the afternoon during both International Days, July 4 and August 8, 2014.
The Concordia community strives for Sustainability by continuing to be ecologically
literate – doing what is possible with the campus footprint to protect and preserve Earth.
A couple of examples are:
 Fifty percent of Concordia's electricity is provided by renewable energy.
Hydroelectric power is generated from dams along the Missouri River.
Wind power is acquired from turbines in Rugby, N.D. and Worthington,
Marshall and Odin, Minn.
 Concordia Dining Services limits food waste by: sending produce
trimmings to Jones Science Center for animal consumption; using
trayless dining in Anderson Commons; and donating overproduced food
to the Great Plains Food Bank.
Class Giving Makes a Difference
Alumni giving at Concordia is important and provides students directly with support for
academic programs, facilities and scholarships. In the fiscal year that ended April 30,
2014, 130 members of our class gave $89,697.12. Our participation rate was 32%.
Thank you for your generosity and support of Concordia.
In celebration of our 45th Reunion I encourage you to give a gift to Concordia that is
meaningful to you. A Reunion Team of classmates will be calling to invite you to
Homecoming and ask for your participation in a reunion class gift. During our 40th year
our participation rate was 40%. I hope we can increase that percentage this year.
Class Notes
After last summer’s letter had been sent to the printer, I learned that Elaine Riess
Krueger died on April 3, 2013 in Stillwater, MN. She was employed by Minnesota Work
Force Center in the Twin Cities for 37 years. Her obituary states that she “travelled the
world; played bridge, golf, piano and saxophone; loved nature, books, movies, theatre,
music, and sports”. She was described as leaving “a legacy of rare tolerance,
generosity, and delight.” Her husband Allen preceded her in death.
James M. Baker of New Hope died in March 2014. Jim was employed by 3M in St.
Paul for nearly 40 years and had a strong passion for ballroom dancing. His wife Olga
and two children survive him.
In October 2012, after living in New York City for nearly 40 years, Paulette Callen
moved back to her hometown of Webster, South Dakota to retire. She asks: “Can you
say culture adjustment?” and reports that she is re-acclimating herself to the cold. She
had two new books published in November 2013: Fervent Charity, the sequel to Charity
which came out over a decade ago, and a new very slightly revised edition of Charity to
go with it. She reports, “I wrote Fervent Charity years ago and just now found a
publisher. I am the poster child for perseverance.” All her books can be ordered from
Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble with more info on her website:
www.paulettecallen.com
George Halvorson has retired from his position as Chair and CEO of Kaiser
Permanente, where he spent eleven years following seventeen years as CEO of
HealthPartners in Minnesota. He continues to serve as Chair of the First Five
Commission for Children and Families of California overseeing and supporting the
funding of education, health, and child care programs for children ages 0 to 5 and their
families. He also is Chair and CEO of the Institute for InterGroup Understanding, which
works on issues of ethnic conflict and InterGroup discrimination, and runs a retreat
center for shared learning on InterGroup issues. His most recent healthcare book was
Ending Racial, Cultural and Ethnic Prejudice in American Health Care. He is currently
writing on the art of peace as a belated rebuttal to Sun Tzu's Art of War. He lives in
Sausalito California with his wife Lorie. After I mentioned that Dr. Craft had told of his
work with First Five, George said that he is “constantly appreciative” of the liberal arts
education he received at Concordia, adding, “I tend to approach issues as a synthesist,
and liberal arts tees that up in a lovely way.”
Jerrett L. Hansen writes from Baltimore that he has retired after 41 years in the
Lutheran ministry, all of those years spent on the east coast: New York City, the District
of Columbia, Baltimore and Philadelphia. He plans to travel, spend time with
grandchildren and relax at their summer home on the coast of Maine.
Nancy J. Johnson and Steven Haggmark continue to enjoy their life “pilgrimage” and
now live in Fresno, California – Steve’s home territory and their 15th residence so far
after moves in the US, India and Southeast Asia. Nancy is currently the grants specialist
for Fresno State’s College of Science and Mathematics, where she works on projects
that support the success of at-risk college students. Steve recently retired from careers
as an ELCA pastor and college/seminary professor. Nancy enjoys singing with the
Fresno Community Chorus Master Chorale, which in 2015 will perform the world
premiere of a new work in commemoration of the Armenian genocide. She is particularly
grateful for the many deep and lasting connections that time at Concordia fostered.
Former Class of 1969 roommates – Nancy, Sharon Strand McGeehan, Shirley Nelson
Johnson and Ardie Wigdahl Halvorson – are in close touch, have vacationed together,
and have supported each other during both difficult and joyful times. As Kierkegaard
said, “Life must be lived forwards, but it can only be understood backwards.” In
retrospect, thank you Concordia!
Since December 2013 Fred Hagen has been busy as CEO of a company called
Stemgenics. I asked him for more information about the company and he shared this
blurb. “Stemgenics has developed a breakthrough technology that converts mature cells
into Personalized Stem Cells. Stem cells can grow and develop into any cell type of the
body. Stem cells from one’s own cells are not rejected but rather are accepted “as own”
or "not foreign”. Stemgenics Personalized Stem Cells may be used to regenerate tissues
of the human body (regenerative medicine).” Fred plans to be at Concordia for
Homecoming in October.
This letter started with the mission statement of Concordia. In closing, I’m grateful to
point out that our 1969 classmates exemplify that mission. I look forward to seeing you
at our reunion October 10-12.
Judy (Madson) Becker
bckrs@usfamily.net
Photos are from our 25th Reunion in 1994 and our 30th Reunion in 1999.