We love hearing from our alumni!
Whether you’ve reached a career milestone, started a new venture, made an impact in your community, or celebrated a personal achievement, your story inspires current and future Knights. Share your accomplishments with us so we can celebrate your success and highlight the many ways Wartburg alumni make a difference in the world.
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All Class Years
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Alexis Oberdorfer ’94
Alexis Oberdorfer ’94, West Saint Paul, Minn., is senior vice president of services for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.
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Van Beach ’94
Van Beach ’94, Cumming, is global head of Life Actuarial Solutions with Aon.
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Jeff Martin ’92
Jeff Martin ’92, Kennesaw, Ga., produced “Lethal Restraint” as a journalist for the Associated Press. The project is a series of stories, photos, videos, and a PBS Frontline documentary examining the deaths of more than 1,000 people after encounters with police that involved “less-lethal” force. The series was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize…
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David Gerleman ’91
David Gerleman ’91, Alexandria, Va., a history instructor at George Mason University, Fairfax, is a 2024-25 Fulbright Scholar Award recipient and is teaching two courses at the University of Debrecen, Hungary.
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Kathryn Buck Strong ’90
Kathryn Buck Strong ’90, Broomfield, Colo., retired from the city of Lakewood after 26 years as a teacher and education coordinator for Head Start. She now serves as an office administrator with Atonement Lutheran Church, Boulder.
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Kevin Kelling ’88
Kevin Kelling ’88, Grand Rapids, Mich., is a mortgage loan originator at Macatawa Bank.
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Stu Fritz ’88
Stu Fritz ’88, Holland, Mich., retired after 31 years as head baseball coach and associate professor of kinesiology at Hope College. He is serving part time as an athletics and philanthropy liaison.
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Jan Hazlewood Plane ’87
Jan Hazlewood Plane ’87, Brandon, Wis., earned the ACM-SIGCSE Broadening Participation in Computing Award. She was also awarded the May Bumby Severy Award for Teaching Excellence at Ripon College.
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Jamie Clemente De Geer ’84
Jamie Clemente De Geer ’84, Valley Park, Mo., celebrated 25 years as director of music ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Manchester. She serves in various roles from worship and youth leadership to choir director.
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Deborah Newton Mortensen ’83
Deborah Newton Mortensen ’83, Alta, retired in 2022 after 39 years with the Storm Lake Community School District. She authored the children’s book Not Me, published in 2024.
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Dawn Rodenberg Lynes ’82
Dawn Rodenberg Lynes ’82, Garnavillo, earned the 2023 Tom Lewis Award from the Coalition for Family and Children’s Services in Iowa.
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Gregory Diercks ’78
Gregory Diercks ’78, Chicago, Ill., is retired.
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David Burrier ’76
David ’76 and Sherry Burrier, Runnells, were married Jan. 1, 2022. He has authored and published 10 children’s books since retiring in 2019.
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Robert Atkins ’76
Robert Atkins ’76, Roscoe, Ill., is retired.
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Coby Carstens ’02
Coby Carstens ’02, Iowa City, is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.
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David Van Driel ’72
David Van Driel ’72, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., earned a master’s degree from Rice University, Houston, and is CEO at Van Driel Ventures/Energy and Waste Network.
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Rev. Dianne Stange Prichard ’71
The Rev. Dianne Stange Prichard ’71, DeWitt, co-authored the book Raising America: Building a More Perfect Union.
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Dr. Erv Janssen ’58
Dr. Erv Janssen ’58, Tulsa, Okla., a U.S. Navy veteran, was a 2024 inductee in the Oklahoma Military Hall of Honor for his lifetime of service in support of the mental health of active duty service members, reservists, veterans, and their families.
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Dr. James Heddens ’60
James D. Heddens, D.P.M., Podiatrist Emeritus, passed away at the age of 88 on October 14 surrounded by his children. Jim was an active member of the Marshalltown community where he lived for over 60 years. He was born in Charles City in 1937, attended Wartburg College and graduated from the Illinois College of Podiatric…
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Kayla Wiley Brokaw ’17
Tommy Brokaw and Kayla Wiley ’17, Monticello, were married July 12, 2025. She earned a master’s degree in music education from the University of South Dakota.
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Robert Beener ’63
Robert “Bob” Beener, 97, of Cedar Falls, IA, passed away on Friday, March 29, 2026, at Western Homes Creekside Living in Grundy Center. Bob was born June 14, 1928, in Waterloo, IA, the third son of Charles and Lydia (Speicher) Beener. His family included-two older brothers, Irvin and LaVerne, two younger sisters, Mary, and Janice “Jenny,”…
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H. DeVere Creger ’52
H. DeVere Creger of Waverly, Iowa passed away on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at the age of 95. Hillis DeVere Creger was born November 7, 1930, the son of Hillis R. and Elna L. (French) Creger in Plainfield, Iowa. He graduated from Plainfield High School and then attended Wartburg College for two years. On March…
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Marianna Schutter King ’83
Marianna King of Waverly, Iowa passed away after a brief illness and one day of hospitalization from cardiopulmonary arrest at the Waverly Health Center, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at the age of 81. Marianna was born July 30, 1944, the daughter of Alyle A. and Helen (Lounsbury) Schutter, in a military hospital at Barksdale…
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Janet Krafka Rohrer ’68
Janet Krafka “Fritz” Rohrer passed away peacefully at home on March 9, 2026 at 91 years of age. Fritz lived a life full of family, faith and friendships. Christened Janet, she earned her nickname Fritz from her father who shortened it from Snickelfritz – a term of endearment for an energetic, curious child. The name…
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Janet Ames Lockwood ’64
Janet Lockwood, 87, of Sheffield, passed away on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at the Iowa Specialty Hospital in Belmond. Jan (Janet) Lockwood was born in Atlantic, Iowa, April 23, 1938. Parents were Wyman and Eva Ames. She graduated from Madrid High School in 1956, then Waldorf Junior College in Forest city in 1958. She taught…
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Robert Johnsen ’61
Robert J. “Bob” “Bubba” Johnsen, 86, of Beatrice, passed away Sunday morning, March 8, 2026, at Bryan East Medical Center in Lincoln. He was born August 19, 1939, in Beatrice to William and Grace (Wallman) Johnsen. Bob graduated from Beatrice High School and later attended Wartburg College. On December 31, 1969, he married Donna Doehler…
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Rev. Dr. Herman Diers ’49
Herman Diers, a wise and compassionate man of exceptional grace and generosity, a community builder committed to peace and an end to hunger, died March 7, 2026. He was 97. Born in Hampton and raised in Lutheran parsonages across eastern Iowa, Herman earned degrees from Wartburg College (BA), Wartburg Seminary (MDiv), Northwestern (MA), and Berkeley…
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James Pilgrim ’60
James W. Pilgrim, 87, of Clear Lake, Iowa, passed away peacefully on March 6, 2026 at MercyOne Medical Center in Mason City. James Walter was born July 3, 1938, in Tracy, Minnesota, the son of Rev. Paulus W. Pilgrim and Elsie (Bartz) Pilgrim. Jim began his education in Austin, Minnesota, and attended country school for…
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Martha Farlow Knapp ’66
Martha Kay Farlow Knapp, 81, of Winterset, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames. Martha Kay McKeever was born in Des Moines, Iowa on May 21, 1944 to William McKeever and Kathryn (Gordon) McKeever. Her parents were divorced and her mother later married Billy W. Farlow, who adopted…
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James Waterbury
James Bentley Waterbury died March 2, 2026, at Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls, after a short battle with metastatic melanoma. He was 78. Jim was born August 2, 1947, the third of four children born to Charles Arthur and Mary Elizabeth Stoddard Waterbury. His mother once told him he was her favorite because her…
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Sue Engel Dunshee ’62
Sue Ann Engel Dunshee, 85, of Houston, TX went home to be with our Heavenly Father on Monday, March 2, 2026, at her home, Spring Cypress Senior Living in Cypress, TX. Sue was born September 30, 1940 in Cedar Falls, IA, the second of five siblings born to the late Paul and Mildred Engel. After…
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Darrell Arntzen ’68
Darrell Lynn Arntzen, a beloved figure in his community and a park ranger, passed away on March 1, 2026, at Bickford of Urbandale, Urbandale, Iowa. He was born on July 26, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of Orie Edgar and Mary Priscilla (Murray) Arntzen. Darrell grew up in Iowa, graduating from Cedar Rapids…
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Carol Suckow Wolf ’65
Carol J. Wolf, 82, of Oelwein, Iowa, died Saturday, February 28, 2026, at Arlington Place Assisted Living in Oelwein. Carol Jean Suckow was born July 14, 1943, in West Union, Iowa, the daughter of Charles Lewis and Helen Mildred (Springer) Suckow. She graduated from North High School and then earned her bachelor’s degree from Wartburg…
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Joyce Mueller Paxson ’60
Joyce M. Paxson was born on September 11, 1938, to Adolph Mueller and Mary Chambers in Manchester, Iowa. She is preceded in death by her husband William T. Paxson, daughters Katie Paxson and Terri Bennett, and sister Jackie Gibson. Joyce is well-known for her passion and dedication to music. Receiving her training at the Wartburg…
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Todd Wollenzien ’87
It is with deep sadness we announce Todd Wollenzien, 60, passed away on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at MercyOne Hospital in West Des Moines, Iowa. After a long battle with cancer, he passed peacefully in his sleep with his family at his bedside, after a day full of exchanging stories about him and his contagious…
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Robert Selk ’59
Robert Rudolph Koeppen Selk, 89, of Dysart, Iowa, passed away on February 22, 2026, just 25 days after celebrating his 89th birthday. Robert will be buried in the Dysart Cemetery. He was born on January 28, 1937, to Rudolph and Louise Selk. Bob graduated from Dysart High School in 1955 and later attended Wartburg…
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Verona Orth Zelle ’52
Verona Zelle, 95, of Waverly, Iowa died on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly. Verona Ruth Zelle was born on January 21, 1931, and raised in rural Jesup in Black Hawk County, Iowa, the fifth daughter of six children born to Louis A. and Olinda M. (Riensche) Orth. She was…
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Daniel Glommen ’63
Daniel Stanley Glommen February 13, 1941 — February 20, 2026 Daniel Stanley Glommen was born on February 13, 1941, in Wilmington, Ohio. As a son of an Air Force officer, Dan and his siblings lived in many areas, including Washington Courthouse, Ohio; Levittown, New York; and Frankfurt, Germany. At the age os 12, he and his family…
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Carol Burdick Rudey ’73
Carol Anne Rudey, 74, of Racine, WI, died of complications from a fall at Aurora SummitOconomowoc Hospital on Friday, February 20th, 2026, surrounded by family in her finalmoments. The fall took place in early December.She is a true testament to love and determination in her lifelong battle against RheumatoidArthritis.Carol was dedicated to her family and…
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Keith Meyer ’64
Keith E. Meyer, 84, formerly a longtime resident of Davenport, died Tuesday, February 17, 2026, with family at his side. Keith Edwin Meyer was born on August 6, 1941, in Woden, Iowa, a son of Edwin Henry and Eva Ruth (Valley) Meyer. He spent his early years in Woden before the family moved to Dows,…