Their legacy lives on.
We remember all of the Knights who came before us and passed leaving a legacy and light for us all to follow. Below are obituaries of alumni, faculty and staff, and friends of the college shared with us. If you have an obituary of a fallen Knight please share it with us.
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In Memoriam
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Randeen Mork Ellefson ’57
Randeen (Randi) Ellefson devoted her professional life to the health and well-being of young people and the Wartburg College community. She brought a distinctive blend of careful attention, creativity, and quiet joy to family and faith. Randeen died on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at the age of 91. She was born Randeen Audrey Mork on November 20, 1934, in Elgin, Iowa, the daughter of Henry Mork and Rosella (Larson) Mork. She graduated from Decorah High School in 1953, attended Luther College for one year, and completed her nursing education at the Swedish Hospital School of Nursing in 1957. Years later,…
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Janet Stengel Meadows ’67
Janet Anne Stengel Meadows December 21, 1944 -August 30, 2026 Janet Anne Stengel Meadows was born December 21, 1944 in Freeport, Illinois. She was the daughter of Edward L. and Lucille V. (Schelling) Stengel. The youngest of 4 children, she grew up on the family farm near Mt. Morris, Illinois, experiencing all that farm life entails, with animals, chores, 4H, and spending lots of time outdoors. She led an enriched and nurtured life, blessed with a loving family and church life at St. James Lutheran Church. She attended Coon Creek Elementary, a one-room country school, and Mt. Morris Junior and…
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John Brandes ’68
John M. Brandes, 80, of Waterloo, Iowa, was welcomed into Heaven by his wife, LaNell on Thursday, August 27, 2026. John Martin Brandes was born September 18, 1945, in Waverly, Iowa, the son of Martin Conrad and Laura “Louise” (McLaughlin) Brandes. He graduated in 1964 from Waverly-Shell Rock High School. Following graduation, John went on to obtain his Bachelor’s degree in Biology (Tri-Beta) from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. John was looking for a summer job. Construction was underway for the Carnation Factory, so he asked, but the boss hesitated, saying he had enough workers already. After thinking about it,…
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Marjorie Koepnick Pfeffer ’58
Marjorie Jean Pfeffer was born May 25, 1938, in Sheldon, the daughter of William and Helen (Wanerus) Koepnick. She graduated as valedictorian from Archer High School in 1956. She went on to attend Wartburg College in Waverly for two years before earning her bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista University. She also continued her education at Mankato State University. Marge devoted her career to education, teaching in Clear Lake, Mason City, Britt, and Algona. She retired in 1999 after 31 years of teaching. On June 4, 1960, Marge was united in marriage to Phillip Pfeffer in Clear Lake. The couple made…
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Jeanette Sutton Vogt ’60
Jeanette Adel Vogt, 88, of Farmersburg, Iowa passed away Friday, August 21, 2026, at Emplify Health in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Jeanette was born April 27, 1938, to Ruth and Clifford Sutton in Garnavillo, Iowa. She was baptized and confirmed at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Garnavillo, Iowa. She went to country school and graduated from Garnavillo High School in 1955. She furthered her education at Grinnell College and Wartburg College. Jeanette met her future husband Harold Vogt at her brother William and Shirley’s wedding dance at Lakeside Ballroom in Guttenberg. Jeanette and Harold were married August 4, 1957, and had…
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Stephen Soules ’89
Stephen Soules, 59, of Minneapolis passed away unexpectedly on August 18, 2026. Stephen William Soules was born May 2, 1967 in St. Louis Park Minnesota to William and Kathryn Soules. He joined his four older siblings, thus completing the Soules family. Stephen graduated from Hopkins High School in 1985. He started his college education at Wartburg College in Iowa. Truly a Minnesota boy, he was soon drawn back to the Twin Cities. He continued his education at the University of Minnesota, Hamline University, and Bethel University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration. Stephen’s love of all things…
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Rev. John Adix ’58
The Reverend John William Adix, age 90 of Maple Grove, MN, was called home on August 14, 2026, with Mary, his wife of nearly 68 years, by his side. Born to the Reverend Herold and Bertha Adix on April 19, 1936, John became a 1954 graduate of West Waterloo (Iowa) High. He attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, where he thrived as a basketball starter all 4 years, and was inducted into Wartburg’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He also served as Student Body President of Wartburg College. On August 30, 1958, John married the love of his life, Mary Holo,…
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Barbara Dobron Harken ’67
Barbara Jean Harken (Red Barb), 81 of Waverly, Iowa, passed away early Tuesday morning, August 11, 2026, at the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly. Barb was born on July 14, 1945, in St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Zenon and Evelyn Marie (Counihan) Dobron. In 1948, the family moved to a suburb of Chicago, Oak Lawn where she was baptized and confirmed. In 1960 they moved to Marshalltown, Iowa. Barb graduated in 1963 from Marshalltown High School and then attended Wartburg College in Waverly, graduating in 1967 with a BA in Education. On July 29,…
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Rebecca Tienter Wisted ’87
Rebecca “Becky” Lynn Tienter Wisted passed away peacefully in her home on Sunday, August 9, 2026. Becky was born on November 17, 1962, in Lake City, MN to Gordon and Jean (Baker) Tienter. Becky has called Winona her home for 25 years, but before then she lived in so many wonderful places that had shaped her in many ways. Some more notable communities are Frontenac, MN, Elgin, MN, Forest City, IA, Waverly, IA, Faribault, MN, Burnsville, MN and Apple Valley, MN. Becky met the love of her life at Waldorf College in Forest City, IA. She wanted to find a…
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Thomas Reimler ’88
Thomas Craig Reimler, known to family and friends as Tom, passed away on August 9, 2026, in Holmen, Wisconsin, at the age of 61. Tom was born on September 11, 1964, in Sumner, Iowa, the son of Leon and Alice (Day) Reimler. He grew up with a strong sense of family, hard work, community, and a love for baseball given to him by his father; values that remained with him throughout his life. Those who knew Tom will remember him as someone who always put others before himself, had a deep sense of responsibility to those he cared for, and…
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Helen Bluhm Comnick ’53
Helen Comnick of Menahga, MN passed away peacefully at 3:08 PM on Saturday, August 8th, 2026 at the age of 96. Helen was born on March 18, 1930 to Frederick and Kathryn Bluhm of Ogden, IL. Helen was the 6th of 7 children, Emma, Anna, Ernest, Alvin (Kelly), Irene and Herb and the last surviving sibling. Helen was baptized on April 3, 1930 at St John Lutheran Church in Royal, IL, and confirmed on March 25, 1945. She was raised on the family farm. Helen attended Wartburg College in Waverly, IA receiving her BA (class of 1953). It was there…
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Richard Howie ’65
Richard D. Howie, DVM, 83, of Mount Pleasant, died Friday, August 7, 2026, at Wesley on Grand Senior Living in Des Moines. Richard was born March 23, 1943, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the son of Vinton and Ruth (Hersom) Howie. He graduated from Manson High School in 1961, Wartburg College in 1965, and Iowa State University in 1970 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Richard married Andrea Lynn Trost in 1966, and they later divorced. He had been a resident of the Mount Pleasant community since 1971, where he owned and operated Henry County Veterinary Hospital. After 53 years…
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Rev. O. Paul Hougen
Rev. Paul Hougen, 93, of Denver, Iowa, and formerly of Decorah, Iowa, passed away on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly, Iowa. O. Paul Hougen was born to Virgil and Leona Hougen September 9, 1932 in Minneapolis, MN and baptized October 4. From 1934-1940 he lived in New Effington, SD. From 1940-1946 his home was in the country out from Irene, SD. His freshman year of high school was at Augustana Academy, in Canton, SD. He was confirmed July 21, 1946 at Elim Lutheran Congregation by his father, Virgil Hougen. Kenyon, MN was his home…
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Barbara Dobron Harken ’67
Barbara Jean Harken (Red Barb), 81 of Waverly, Iowa, passed away early Tuesday morning, August 11, 2026, at the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly. Barb was born on July 14, 1945, in St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Zenon and Evelyn Marie (Counihan) Dobron. In 1948, the family moved to a suburb of Chicago, Oak Lawn where she was baptized and confirmed. In 1960 they moved to Marshalltown, Iowa. Barb graduated in 1963 from Marshalltown High School and then attended Wartburg College in Waverly, graduating in 1967 with a BA in Education. On July 29,…
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Rev. Dr. Robert Vogel ’56
The Rev. Dr. Robert L. Vogel ’56 — fondly remembered by many students as “Daddy Vogs” — was Wartburg College’s 15th president, serving from 1980-1998. He died Friday, July 24, 2026, surrounded by his family, including his wife, Sally ’57, and their children, Kirk ’83 and Susan. Vogel was a Lutheran pastor and church executive — and great-grandson of Otto Kraushaar, one of the presidents at Wartburg’s former Clinton campus. His tenure is remembered for his contagious excitement, animated by his vision for what Wartburg College could be, and his passion for our students. Many still recall one of his favorite…
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Dr. Glenn Fenneman ’62
Glenn Fenneman, age 86, of Waverly, Iowa, died Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Unity Point Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. Glenn was born June 25, 1940, in Charles City, Iowa, the son of Clarence and Edna (Kohlman) Fenneman. He was baptized and confirmed at First United Church of Christ, Pleasant Valley, rural Plainfield. Glenn attended Dayton #7 (Shady Dell) country school until the 8th grade and then Clarksville High school graduating in 1958. Glenn then attended Iowa State University in 1958 and then Wartburg College in Waverly graduating in 1962 with his Bachelor of Arts Degree. He received master’s…
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Dr. Richard Stedtfeld
Richard Warren “Dick” Stedtfeld, 97, of Glasgow, Montana, loved to sing and often burst forth into song throughout his long life. His eldest daughter, Laura, sang hymns to him in some of the last hours of his life and he passed away peacefully on March 12, 2026. Born in Glasgow, Montana in September 1928, Dick met the love of his life, Ruth Elaine Lund, at a Bible Camp in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana in 1944. They married in 1952 and shared 70 beautiful years together until Ruth’s passing in 2021. Dick often recalled, “A long time ago, Ruthie…
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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 (PhD), and honorary degrees from Dana and Wartburg Colleges. On Dec. 28, 1950, he married Dorothy Lange. They first lived in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, to found Grace Lutheran Church. In 1959, they moved to Waverly, where they both worked at Wartburg College until 1993,…
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Arthur Frick
Arthur C. Frick II, 101, of Waverly died on March 10, 2025, at the Waverly Health Center in Waverly. Arthur Charles Frick was born on October 15,1923, the son of Arthur Clement and Nola Ann (Mangum) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was baptized in 1923 and confirmed in 1935, both at the 1st Methodist Episcopal Church in Milwaukee. Arthur graduated from. He served with the US Army Air Corps in the Pacific theater from October 22,1942 until his discharge in January 27,1946. He furthered his studies at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee until 1948 , University of Wisconsin, Madison in…
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Lynn Olson
Lynn Jay Olson was born on July 15, 1946 and smiles and kindness were added to the equation. Smiles started at an early age as he grew up with his parents, Leslie and Shirley, sister, Marcia, and cousin, Ellerd. One story passed down from his mother Shirley has Lynn, at age 6, dangling from his pant leg from the rafters in the barn. We can imagine him beaming with energy, much like his grandson Roy. At age 18, Lynn graduated from high school and left Hoffman, MN, saying goodbye to his home on the farm, and greeting the world with…
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Lavern Busse
Lavern Theodore Busse, 85, passed away on September 27, 2026, at HallMar Village, Marion, Iowa. Lavern was born at his parents’ home on December 23, 1940, and grew up on their farm northeast of Waverly, Iowa. He was raised on hard work. Prior to his senior year of high school, his father was killed in a car accident. Lavern became a farmer overnight, spending his senior year both completing high school and farming. In 1960, Lavern married Audrey Kappmeyer of rural Tripoli, Iowa. Together, they continued farming and had three children: LoriAnn, Jeffrey, and Lisa. In 1965, he added John…
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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 labor with him was so short. However, he may have made that up. We all make up the stories we need. Jim graduated from Waterloo West High in 1965, and Princeton University in 1969. How he made it through is a testament to his professors’…
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Charles Birnstiel
Esteemed Professor, bridge engineer, and author Dr. Charles Birnstiel passed away on March 11th at the age of 94. Charles was born on December 6, 1929, in Manhattan, NY, to German immigrants Karl and Margarete Birnstiel. After attending public grade schools in East Harlem, Charles studied at Brooklyn Technical High School, and then at New York University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, A Master of Science in Civil Engineering, and a Doctorate Degree in Structural Engineering. Following his graduation, Charles devoted himself to teaching and structural mechanics research as a professor at both New York University…