In Memoriam notices are accepted at all times but distributed in print and digital twice per year, in the fall and in the spring.
To send word, email editor@gustavus.edu.
1945
Margie Ponwith Cooney, 2/20/26
1948
Jeanne Hagen Nave McEldowney, 5/2/26
1949
Duane Flink, 12/10/25 Connie Elofson Foseid, 12/22/25
1951
Edward “Ed” Benson, 7/31/24 Harold Lindell, 3/25/25 Rhoda Irene Smith Nelson, 2/12/26 George Olson, 2/3/26
1952
Wayne Farnberg, 10/29/25 Gordon Johnson, 11/3/25
1953
Kent Bigbee, 11/10/25 Robert “Bob” Johnson, 2/6/26 Ward Lewis, 4/11/26 Jane Nielsen Norman, 5/2/26 Henry Roehler, 3/21/26
1954
Dale Fetchenhier, 8/27/25 Harlan Nelson, 10/14/25
1955
Corrine Nelson Lundberg, 11/30/25 Thomas “Tom” Zwiener, 1/5/26
1956
Roger Munson, 11/28/25
1957
Gale Falk, 6/18/25 Beth Carlson Helgoe, 1/13/26 Joyce Kirkvold Knoll, 11/8/25 Marlys Mattson Nelson, 1/25/26
1958
Robert Hanson, 11/30/25 Kenneth “Ken” Jorgensen, 9/27/25 Claudette Anderson McCollar, 12/27/25 Donald “Don” Milton, 2/5/26 Ronald Nelson, 10/23/25
1959
Joyce Miller Biagini, 3/5/26 Dean Brown, 12/31/25 Lynda Tidemann Johnson Minnick, 4/25/26 James Vanasek, 5/12/25 Mary Brostrom Wilson, 1/18/26
1960
Roger Anderson, 4/8/26 John Bergstrom, 1/13/26 Marilyn Hansen Ehline, 4/1/26 Sonja Alvheim Hirsch, 10/23/25 Gordon Larson, 8/12/25 Nathan Lundgren, 1/8/26 Karen Marie Olson, 1/15/26 Patricia Skalbeck Wharton, 10/14/25
1961
Richard Carlson, 4/12/26 James “Jim” Davis, 12/1/25 Roger Fletcher, 4/14/26 Barbara Knutson Richter, 4/12/25 Joy Larson Rubin, 11/25/25 Virgene Grack Sehlin, 3/18/26 Lennart Vretholm, 12/8/25
1962
Douglas “Doug” Anderson, 4/28/26 Ronald “Ron” Barrett, 12/26/25 David Christiansen, 9/10/25 Toni Bennett Easterson, 4/7/26 Richard Hintz, 1/11/26 Marjorie Severson Porter, 11/8/25 Jerry Springston, 3/23/26 Sandra Hendrickson Walls, 2/5/26
1963
Christine Kjos Bakalis, 2/19/26 Mary Lee Pestel, 2/12/26 Mary Elizabeth Carlstrom Strand, 3/12/26 Harvey Suhr, 2/3/26
1964
Susan Fenske Anderson, 5/15/26 Sharron Anderson-Erickson, 2/4/26 Brian Berg, 11/29/25 Robert “Bob” Johns, 12/27/25
1965
Karen Moorman Beach, 2/6/26 Sara Baucom Benisch, 11/10/25 Karen Nygren Lanegran, 1/10/26 Kathleen Noyes Mayer, 1/22/26 Michael Palmen, 4/16/26 Beatrice “Bea” Webster Roscoe, 2/25/26 Barbara Sather, 3/17/26
1966
David McCalla, 5/1/26 Robert “Bob” Panzer, 3/17/26
1967
Frances “Frani” Peterson Anderson, 4/1/26 Jane Forsman Harrison, 5/24/26 Mary Lipke Rodning, 10/24/25
1968
Jane Augustson Hedin, 3/1/26 Todd Jacobson, 10/23/25 Carl “Wink” Lundell, 10/27/25 Holly Biebl Pierce, 3/23/26
1969
Dale Churchill, 5/4/26 William Elliott, 2/10/26 Linda Kittleson Haller, 11/2/25 Susan Paschke Kubat, 9/25 Gary Preiss, 4/6/26
1970
Scott Lichty, 5/13/26 1971 John Dildine, 1/23/26 Nan Mizuhata, 12/3/25 Richard Swenson, 2/20/26
1972
Deborah Wittenberg Angeln, 11/21/25 Thomas “Tom” Boehne, 1/19/26
1973
Carleen Erickson Ronchetti, 10/3/25 Mary Moore Schwab, 2/16/26 Elaine Whitmyre Wait, 12/19/25
1974
James Florine, 3/5/26 Blair Johnson, 4/7/26 Marcia White Martinson, 2/8/26
1975
Lynn Louise Pinske, 12/28/25
1976
Steven “Steve”Gartland, 10/8/25
1977
Daniel “Dan” Larson, 2/22/26 Patricia Lee Marcroft, 11/22/25
1978
Scott Racek, 7/22/25
1980
Paul Rambow, 2/14/26
1982
Terry Bartz, 3/23/26
1983
Jeffery “Jeff” Youngs, 12/25/25
1986
Scott Allen, 1/25/26 Bradley “Brad” Kraywinkel, 12/24/25 Sondra Moores, 10/29/25
1990
Debra Tate Halvorson, 2/11/26
1993
Karen Olson Burkhartzmeyer, 1/18/26 Jonathan Martin, 9/26/25 Aaron Matz, 11/27/25
1998
Jenny Mae Fairbanks, 1/2/26 Sara Ridge Jacobs, 2/11/26
2002
Chad Henke, 11/9/25
2004
Michael “Mike” Christopher, 1/16/26
2012
Matthew Henderson, 7/2/25
2026 Paul Sebastian Calderon Cabrera, 10/20/25
FORMER STAFF
Ann Friederichs, 5/18/26
Michael “Jud” Keim, 9/6/25
John Winch, 12/11/25
REMEMBERING
Paul Dumke (former trustee), 5/20/26. He graduated from Carthage College and Northwestern Lutheran Seminary, was ordained at Reformation Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, and went on to serve in Zumbrota, Goodhue, White Bear Lake, and finally Bethel Lutheran in Willmar. He was President of the Lutheran Camp Board, on the Gustavus Board of Trustees, and chaplain for the Minnesota State Senate.
Robert Langford (former trustee), 2/22/26. Rutgers University and University of North Dakota Law School graduate, he was a talented litigator known for his tort law advocacy. He received a Bush Foundation Fellowship to Harvard University Law School. For many years, he was the Winona County Chairman of the DFL Party. He served on the Gustavus Board of Trustees as well on the boards of many other civic and educational organizations.
Stanley “Stan” Olson (former trustee), 9/12/25. He attended Waldorf College, St. Olaf College, Luther Seminary, and Yale University, where he earned his Ph.D in New Testament. He served the ELCA in a variety of significant roles: parish pastor, seminary professor, bishop of the Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Executive Director for Vocation and Education for the ELCA, and president of both Wartburg Seminary and Trinity Seminary.
REMEMBERING BRUCE GRAY (FORMER EMPLOYEE) 2/25/26
He served in the U.S. Coast Guard, then moved with his wife, Sue, to be a student at Gustavus. After graduation, he worked as a social worker while he pursued master’s in counseling at Mankato State University. He became a Gustavus admissions counselor in 1963, tasked with recruiting black students from Chicago, Detroit, and southern states. (He researched and wrote Black and Bold, a history of black students at Gustavus Adolphus College.) He went on to serve as Director of Financial Aid, Dean of Students, and Senior Development Officer. He relished working with students on the sometimes- difficult questions of life.
He served on numerous local, state, and national boards. He loved to sing, competing in and winning choral and ensemble competitions. He loved basketball and was a referee. He had three hole-in-one golf trophies. His favorite hobby was cheering on the Golden Gusties across all sports.
He retired in 2008 after 45 years of employment. He and Sue received the Greater Gustavus Award in 2013 for their service to the college. He is survived by his daughters, Kim ’79 and Kristen ’83, as well as his granddaughters. He is the only person to attend every Gustavus Nobel Conference from 1965 to 2025.
REMEMBERING REV. RICHARD “DICK” ELVEE (FORMER CHAPLAIN) 5/15/26
For 38 years he was Chaplain of Gustavus Adolphus College.
A preacher’s kid, he graduated from Northwestern Lutheran Seminary in St. Paul and was ordained in 1960. He was serving a small church in Crosslake when he was “discovered” by then-President Edgar Carlson and made the first full-time Chaplain of Gustavus in 1962. In addition to his duties in Chapel tending to the spiritual needs of the Gustavus community, he was integral to the development of the Nobel Conference and, for many years, its director. He also originated and grew Christmas in Christ Chapel. He presided over all varieties of events at the college: banquets, commemorations, graduations, weddings, and funerals. He taught courses from biblical literature to 19th century intellectual thought, from Charles Darwin to Lutheran Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And he cheered for Gusties in every competition.
He is survived by his wife Edith Eckhart Elvee, his children Stephanie, Geoffrey, Mark, and Fareja, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. According to his son, Geoff, his last days were spent reminiscing about his time on The Hill: daily Chapel service, packed services on Sundays, the Nobel Laureates who came to campus, the beautiful music at Christmas in Christ Chapel, and the love he had for Gustavus sports.
