In Memoriam - Summer 2007 Wartburg Magazine - Wartburg College

HOME > IN MEMORIAM

In Memoriam

1925
ORRIN CONSEAR, Surprise, Ariz., died Nov. 23.

1929
MARGARET BREDOW BEAM, Waverly, Iowa, died Dec. 8. Early in her career, she was a secretary in the president’s office of the Lutheran Mutual Aide Society.

1935
ELEANOR WIEDERANDERS GESS, Prairie du Sac, Wis., died Aug. 31. She taught sixth grade in Toledo, Ohio, and high school Latin and English in Yorktown, Ill. She was also a piano teacher and church organist. She and her husband lived in Benson, Ill., until 1980
and retired in Wisconsin.

1936
MARGARET KUETHE LIEBENDORFER, Ashland, Neb., died May 7, 2006.

1941
GENEVA D. BAHR, Spragueville, Iowa, died Sept. 12. She worked at the U.S. Naval Reserve Center in San Pedro, Calif., Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Waukegan, Ill., and Naval Operational Logistics Center in Mechanicsburg, Pa., retiring
in 1985.

1943
CARL H. EIBEN, Amherst, Mass., died Dec. 10. He served as a medic in France during World
War II. He went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Iowa and became a seed analyst for the State of Massachusetts.

NADINE J. FRESE McCOMBS, Waterloo, Iowa, died April 7. She worked in the department of residence at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, until her retirement in 1985.

The Rev. FRED SCHERLE, Lytton, Iowa, died Dec. 29. He graduated from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, in 1946. He and his wife served as missionaries in New Guinea for more than 30 years. He was instrumental in helping native leaders develop the country into the independent nation of Papua New Guinea.

S. JEAN LYNES, Waverly, Iowa, died Nov. 16.

1944
GENEVA PRESTON GABEL, Flanagan, Ill, died March 23, 2005.

1946
MARGARET H. HAHN MANN, Klamath Falls, Ore., died Aug. 16 of brain cancer. She completed her B.S. degree at Iowa State University and was a former home economics teacher at Klamath Union High School.

DONALD HOTH, St. Cloud, Fla., died Jan. 18, 2006.

LEO H. KERSCHNER, Arvada, Colo., died July 1, 2006.

Dr. MARGARET LOSEKE SOMMERVILLE, Dallas, Ga., died May 2, 2006. She was a retired physician.

1947
The Rev. CLARENCE C. EHLER, Mudoon, Texas, died April 26, 2006.

1948
JEANETTE A. JUHL BRASE, Nashua, Iowa, died Oct. 26. She was a teacher and principal at Bremwood Lutheran Children’s Home, Waverly, until1956. She and her husband, the late Rev. Gerhard Brase ’42, served congregations in Nashua, Eldorado, Rolfe, Hanlontown
and rural Decorah before retiring in 1989.

The Rev. CLARENCE A. BRAUER, Eugene Ore., died Dec. 24, 2005. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He graduated from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, in 1951, then served parishes in Colorado, Iowa and Wisconsin. After moving to Eugene in 1993, he was a visitation pastor at Good Samaritan Care Center.

1949
JAMES A. ZUEHL, Eagan, Minn., died Aug. 31. A retired probation officer, he was a past president of the Alumni Association and served on the Alumni Board from 1972 to 1977.

1950
WALTER C.V. BLOCK, Wellsburg, Iowa, died Nov. 22. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. He taught and coached at Wellsburg from 1956 to his retirement in 1990. He completed a master’s degree in mathematics in 1964 at Illinois Wesleyan College. He was honored in 1977 and 1980 as Track Regional Coach of the Year and was a 1986 Iowa Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee.

ELOISE BROWNSON MEYER, Chester, Iowa, died Feb. 14, 2006. She was a retired registered nurse.

LOIS ZUMMAK STEBBINS, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, died Aug. 26. She worked in the admissions office at Iowa Wesleyan College and as a bookkeeper at Standard of Beaverdale lumber yard. She was also an accomplished artist.

1953
ROY PETERSON, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., died Oct. 12, 2005. He joined the U.S. Army at 17 and served in World War II.

1954
ROGER W. KRAUSE, Windom, Minn., died Aug. 30. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War. He then attended Augustana College, Sioux Falls, and the University of South Dakota-Vermillion before earning a master’s degree in education at Mankato State University. He taught high school math in Windom and later became agency manager for Farm Bureau Insurance Co. in Goodhue and Wabasha counties, retiring in 2004.

1955
The Rev. JACK J. ESKE, Central City, Neb., died Dec. 13. A graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, he retired in June 1999 as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Clay Center. He previously served congregations in South Dakota, Colorado and Nebraska and did interim and supply preaching in retirement.

1956
DAVID K. BORCHERT, Amherst, Wis., died May 26, 2005. After earning a bachelor’s degree at Wisconsin State College, Stevens Point, he taught fifth grade in Wisconsin Rapids. He then worked in the banking industry for 35 years, retiring in 1994 as vice president of Bank One in Stevens Point. He was a founding member of the Aldo Leopold Audubon Society.

MARLIN PETERSON, Mankato, Minn., died Sept. 2.

1957
HELEN L. CERWINSKE FOX, Plainfield, Iowa, died June 7, 2006. She taught in Plainfield area schools before completing her degree. She went on to teach kindergarten in Janesville and Plainfield before retiring in 1976. She was also a former librarian at the Plainfield Public Library.

1958
JOYCE GAYER WARNTJES, Rock Valley, Iowa, died Jan. 21. She taught first grade at Rock Valley Community School for more than 27 years before retiring in 1996.

The Rev. HERMAN A. LEHMAN, Lake Kegonsa, Soughton, Wis., died Jan. 4. He graduated from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, and served churches in Texas, Illinois and Wisconsin.

J. ROBERT LOSLO, Cedar Falls, Iowa, died Jan. 12 of a heart attack. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and an AB degree in photography from Hawkeye Community College, Waterloo. He was an English teacher at New Hampton High School and served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone for two years. He taught at Cedar Falls High School before retiring in 1997.

1959
KARLA EDGAR BRACKLIEN, Choctaw, Okla., died Dec. 22 from complications of ovarian cancer. She taught biology for many years.

AMELIA MARIE PARKER STOLZ, Belton, Mo., died Jan. 13 at a nursing home. Her memorial service took place in Lee’s Summit. She was the wife of the Rev. Henry G. Stolz ’53.

1960
The Rev. DALE P. KRONQUIST, Quincy, Ill., died Oct. 27. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean conflict. After earning an M.Div. degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, he served several congregations. He retired in 1999 after 15 years at Christ Lutheran Church in Englewood, Fla.

1961
ROGER L. STEITZ, Concordia., Mo., died Dec. 29. He was assistant manager of shoe sales for Factory Brand Shoes/Famous Footwear before his retirement.

1962
ANN FEULNER POPPEN, Sun City West, Ariz., died Oct. 31 after a four-year battle with arterial lateral sclerosis.

1964
BARBARA J. HANIFAN ZANDER, Madrid, Iowa, died Oct. 3. She had worked at Tiger Bowl, Madrid Super Valu Grocery Store and the Woodward Golf and Recreation Club and taught piano lessons for several years.

1967
EILEEN BUTZLAFF BURROUGHS, Greene, Iowa, died Oct. 28. She taught for more than 40 years, beginning in rural schools. She taught at Greene Junior High School before retiring in 1976. She was past president of the Iowa State Teachers Association.

1968
HELEN HINMON SNIDER, Nashua, Iowa, died Dec. 9, 2003.

1969
The Rev. LESLIE A. LARSEN, Curtis, Neb., died Sept. 21. After graduating from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, he served parishes in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and Nebraska. He went on medical disability in 2004 and continued to do interim work until his death.

1975
RICHARD HUBBARD, Woodridge, Ill., died May 9, 2006. He was an American Airlines pilot.

1976
JOYCE BOLEYN CHANDLER, Oskaloosa, Iowa, died Sept. 1. She and her husband operated a pharmacy in Elgin for 11 years. She subsequently worked as an administrative assistant in Lake City, Creston and Centerville.

1983
Rev. Dr. KENNETH H. ARNOLD, Sheldon, Iowa, died Nov. 29. A graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, he earned a doctorate in pastoral care and counseling at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. He served congregations in La Porte City and Rockwell City and was senior pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sheldon at the time of his death. He also served on the Candidacy Committee for the Western Iowa Synod.

1996
KIMBERLY JOY GRIMM, Burnsville, Minn., died Nov. 17. She was diagnosed in 2000 with Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura. She had completed the radiology program at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale and was enrolled in the MRI Internship Program at the time of her death.

Associate Alumni Association Members

ROBERT G. RUISCH, Waterloo, Iowa, died Nov. 25. He chaired the Wartburg Board of Regents in 1976. An Iowa State University graduate, he retired in 1975 as vice president of Iowa Public Service after 41 years.

TED HEINE, Waverly, Iowa, professor emeritus of accounting, died April 22 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, where he served for 22 years. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1976. He then moved to Waverly and became assistant to the Wartburg president. He began teaching accounting in 1982 and retired in 1996. He was a graduate of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and earned master’s degrees from Middlebury College, George Washington University and the University of Northern Iowa. He was also a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant. Memorials may be directed to the college’s Ted Heine Accounting Scholarship.