Class Notes
Many alumni from the College of Arts and Sciences responded to a mailing from Dean Amy Gort with updates on their lives. We want to hear from you too! Watch for a mailing that will give you the opportunity to let us know what you’ve been up to! In the meantime, you can always connect with the University and classmates through the online community at ave.csp.edu.
Edgar (Dick) Nachtsheim ’35 passed away on July 22, 2007. He enjoyed coming to CSP reunions and being highly involved on campus as an alumnus. Nachtsheim is survived by wife Margaret and daughter Susan (Nachtsheim) Steinhorst ’67.
Pastor Henry C. Mueller ’55 and Jean (nee Krueger) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on August 4, 2007. Their four daughters (Miriam, Mary, Julia and Amy), two sons-in-law and six grandchildren enjoyed several days in Duluth, Minn. Henry’s career includes Lutheran school teaching, being a parish pastor and a pastoral counselor for Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota. Jean has been a teacher, social worker, homemaker and has an antique business.
Harvey ’58 and Norita (Willner) Kath ’58 returned May 3, 2007, from Martin Luther Seminary, Lae, Papua New Guinea. This was a repeat trip from their first stay at MLS in 2005 when Harvey taught courses in “Isaiah” and “Matthew.” They boarded the plane on January 26, 2007 (which just happened to be the 50th anniversary of their first date at CSP). The Kaths lived on campus without air conditioning in the 90-degree heat with 90 percent humidity from the end of January through April. Norita renewed friendships and kept the “home fans turning” and food on the table fresh fruit and vegetables from the open-air market. Harvey and Norita also lived and worked in the Paiela River Valley in Papua New Guinea from 1964-1969, and visited there in August 1998.
Noreen (Benjamin) Sampson ’67 and Chuck Sampson were married on August 11, 2006 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Spokane, Wash. Noreen is an elementary principal in Aberdeen, Wash. Living close to the Pacific Ocean has provided Chuck and Noreen many hours for clamming!
Just as the fall colors were becoming beautiful in Minnesota, 11 life-long friends from the CSP class of 1968 gathered in Lake City, Minn. to remember and celebrate all the blessings God has given them. Friends came from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Georgia, Colorado, and Hawaii. Pictures and stories were shared, sights in the area were seen and friends unable to attend were remembered. The weekend ended as the friends worshiped together. The next gathering is a few years off! Seated left to right: Cherice (Carrigan) Kuseske, Sally (Hoffman) Beckendorf, Dorothy (Wagner) Sutton, Donna (Schultze) Burman. Standing: Kathy (Day) Freudenburg, Marge Stein, Darlene (Tuttle) Lambert, Lana (Brecker) Schaefer, Kathy (Otto) Behnke, Mary (Hahn) Reppun, Diane (Peter) Gerdts. Missing from photo: Cleo (Splinter) Lienert
Pastor Roger Dramstad ’68 and wife Melissia announce the birth of their first grandchild, Marlie Sophia, on August 8, 2007. Parents are Greg and Alena Clark of Fort Collins, Colo. Pastor Roger baptized Marlie on September 23 at Eternal Hope Lutheran, Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Katie Messer ’71 works for the Internal Revenue Service as a Revenue Agent. She resides in Eden Prairie, Minn.
Mark Rosenwinkel ’77 wrote the play “Wellstone” for which the lead actor, Kris Nelson, was honored with an Ivy Award for acting. The Ivy Awards are the annual Twin Cities theatre community awards. “Wellstone” was performed at the History Theatre in St. Paul in 2006.
Condolences to Susanne (Petrick) Thorson ’79 and her family for the loss of her husband Roger who passed away on Sept. 1, 2007 from cancer.
Susan (Krentz) Ackerman ’86 has been enjoying 17 years of wedded bliss with husband Lowell Ackerman and nearly 20 years as a preschool teacher. Through it all, Ackerman loves to sing and dance. Also along for the ride is the couple’s golden retriever, Buddy.
Tammy (Kopplien) Hurley ’90 and Scott Hurley ’90 adopted two sons from Korea. Ryan in May of 2005 (age 3) and Kyle in November 2006 (20 months).
Michael Joseph Sauter ’92 Amy and Justin Sauter celebrated the birth of their first child, Michael Joseph Sauter, on April 19, 2007. He was a healthy 6 pounds, 15 oz. and 20 inches long.
Sheryl Trittin ’95 married Chuck Urbanczyk on June 30, 2007 in St. Paul, Minn. Among those attending the ceremony were CSP alumni Sandra Trittin ’93 and Erica (Wentzel) McClellan ’95. Sheryl and Chuck reside in St. Paul, where Sheryl works as a copyeditor.
On September 21, 2007 Rev. Daniel Burns ’97 and wife Esther (Finkel) Burns ’99 welcomed a daughter to their family. Emma Lero Burns now joins big brothers Ethan and Zach Burns. Burns now serves at Immanuel Lutheran Church of Walker, Minn.
Joshua Schunk ’97 accepted a call as an Associate Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fargo, N.D.
Alison and Andrew Bicek ’97 announce the birth of their son, Simon John Bicek, on October 16, 2007 at 1:22 a.m. He weighed 8 lb., 2 oz. and was 21 inches long. He was born by emergency c-section, and all are doing well. His older brother Elijah, 6, is super excited to have a younger sibling. Andrew also successfully defended his dissertation entitled “Origin and consequences of microtubule bending in living cells” in September 2007, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. Andrew is currently a postdoctoral associate at the University of Minnesota and is searching for employment at a medical device company.
Heidi (Souba) Lewerenz ’98 and husband Eric thank God for the healthy birth of their third baby, Isabelle Liberty, born at home on April 20, 2007. She is adored by her big brother Zachariah (4) and big sister Emily (2). The Lewerenz family currently resides near Wausau, Wis.
Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions promoted Todd Voge ’98 M.A. ’02 to the newly created position of Manager - Enterprise Business Solutions. In this new position, Todd will focus on the integration of back office technology to provide seamless operations for sales, accounting, shipping and end-user support.
After completing both an M.A. in Philosophy and Religion through the California Institute of Integral Studies and the TESL certification through the University of California Berkeley, Jessa Walters ’99 has accepted a position teaching English at Yeungnam University in Daegu, South Korea.
Jon and Heidi (Bierlein) Wuggazer ’99 got married at Grace Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, Fla. on Sunday, May 6, 2007. They honeymooned in Italy. They met on eHarmony.com (“Yes, really,” said Heidi). He is a lifetime LCMS Lutheran, originally from Iowa and works as a web developer for an insurance company.
Jim ’99 and Angela (Fulbright) Bargmann ’01 announce the birth of their son, Nathan Frederick Bargmann. He was born on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 at 7:15 p.m. He weighed in at 8 lb., 9 oz. and measured 21 inches.
Monica McClain ’99 is a probation officer for Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation and an adjunct professor at Metro State University in the Social Science Department. She resides in Minneapolis, Minn.
Amy (Klein) Mederios ’99 serves as an intern for Counseling Intern Associates, a large Christian private practice with 15 therapists and psychiatrists, in Columbia, S.C. She and her family reside in Blythewood, S.C.
Michael Rademacher ’99 works as a senior database administrator for Target Corp. and resides in Savage, Minn.
Shari (Baumgart) Kropp ’99 resides in Owatonna, Minn. She works in business process and quality management for United Healthcare. Shari also has her Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
Joanne (Chudzik) Koenig ’99 works for Retail Employees Credit Union as a marketing specialist and resides in Circle Pines, Minn.
Meghan (Langley) AuBuchon ’99 resides in Apple Valley, Minn. and works for Carlson Companies, Inc. as a communications specialist.
Rev. Brenda (Froberg) Legred ’99 is the pastor of discipleship and outreach at Servant of Christ Lutheran Church and resides in White Bear Lake, Minn with her husband Joel.
Christine Peterson-Borscheid ’00 accepted a position at University of Minnesota Fairview as a staff pharmacist on solid organ transplant and general medical surgery units, after completing a pharmacy residency in kidney transplant and nephrology in June 2007. She resides in Inver Grove Heights, Minn.
Chad Robert Nelson ’00 and Nikole Dawn Decker-Larson were married May 17, 2003 at Central Baptist Church in Sioux Falls, S.D. Chad joined Nikole and her two daughters Rachael and Christina Larson as a new family! They celebrated the first birthday of their daughter Janessa Delaine on September 24, 2007. Janessa joined her big brother Evan David, born June 8, 2004 and her sisters Rachael and Christina on this special day.
Jennifer (Trapp ’00) Caquelin works for Quest Diagnostics, Inc. as a Cytotechnologist and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minn.
Adam Schutte ’00 is a regional manager for Primerica Financial Services and resides in Elk River, Minn. with his wife Rachel (Noenning ’99).
Joseph Zimmerman ’00 and his wife Katie (Anderson ’01) own and run a coffee roasting company, New Roots Coffee Company LLC, based just outside of Wausau, Wis.
Joseph Austin ’01 was announced the 25th head coach at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Austin comes from the University of Dubuque (Iowa) where he served as offensive coordinator for a unit that set 33 school records.
Elise Williams ’01 married Jeffry Mademann of South St. Paul on September 21, 2007. Jeff and Elise are police officers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The couple currently lives in Rosemount, Minn.
Sarah (Klemp) Berwald ’01 is a manager of office administration for a Coldwell Banker Burnet office and her husband, Brian Berwald ’03 works for Berwald Roofing. The couple resides in White Bear Lake, Minn. with their son, Bradley and daughter, Isabelle.
Theresa Fitzpatrick ’01 is a graduate assistant and tutor for the English department at Western Kentucky University as well as the director of contemporary worship at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Elk River, Minn. She currently resides in Roseville, Minn.
Elise (Williams) Mademann ’01 is a police officer for Metropolitan Airports Commission and resides in Rosemount, Minn.
Kjellgren Alkire ’01 is a self-employed artist and serves as a faculty associate for Arizona State University. He lives with his wife Amy (Cohrs) Alkire ’99 and their daughter Ada in Chandler, Ariz. Amy teaches at Christ Lutheran School.
Joel Erkkinen ’01 is an art director and animator for Ghost Productions in Roseville, Minn. He and his wife Sarah (Pieper) Erkkinen ’02 reside in St. Paul, Minn.
Bobbie (Koppinger) Fischer ’02 and husband Brice welcomed a healthy baby boy named Karsten on November 2, 2007 at 7:25 a.m. He weighed 8 lb., 10 oz. and was 21 inches long.
Mary Metzger ’02 (pictured with Rev. Daniel Burns) has accepted a call to teach at Immanuel Lutheran School in Walker, Minn. She will be teaching kindergarten and first grade as well as computer technology for the K-7th grade school.
Rev. Christopher Martin ’02 and wife Lindsay accepted a call to serve as Pastor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Audubon, Iowa in August, 2007.
Pastor Martin was installed at Our Saviour’s on September 9, 2007. Prior to moving to Audubon, he served as Mission Development Pastor for North Iowa and as Pastor of the North Prairie Lutheran Mission, rural Leland, Iowa from 2005-2007.
Sarah and Jesse Stremcha ’02 became parents on October 17, 2007 to a beautiful baby girl, Matilda Mae Stremcha. “Tilly” weighed 7 lb., 3 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches. The Stremcha family resides in St. Paul, Minn.
Kim (Fischvogt) Lauer ’02 has accepted a call to be minister to children and middle school youth at Bethany Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. She served at her first call as Director of Christian Education in Elgin, Ill. for 5 years.
Timothy Garrels ’02 teaches high school English in USD 259 and resides in Park City, Kan.
Daniel Thrasher ’02 is a sales and marketing manager for Thrasher Basement Systems in Omaha, Neb.
On October 13, 2007, Tim Breitbarth ’03 married Valentine Woods at the Woods’ Farm in Yanceyville, N.C. The couple resides in Washington, DC, where Tim serves in the Economic Analysis division of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Valentine is a development officer at Bread for the City, a local non-profit organization, and is working toward a master’s degree in public health at George Washington University.
Trisha (Beauvais ’03) Abel works at Monticello High School as an Art Teacher and resides in Osseo, Minn. with her husband, Andy.
Jason Cooper ’03 is a student at John Marshall Law School, serves on the Diversity Affairs committee and as secretary of the Black Law Student Association. He resides in Detroit, Mich.
Cynthia and Rev. J. Christian Strickland ’04 announce the birth of their son, Benjamin Andrew Strickland, on March 27, 2007. He was born at 2:02 p.m., weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.
Matt and Jen (Wilson) Smith ’04 welcomed the birth of a daughter, Miriam Helen, on April 28, 2007. She weighed 7 lb., 5 oz. and was 19 inches long. She was welcomed home by her big sister Abby, 3 1/2.
Margaret Gohman ’04 is an organist for Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, Minn. and resides in Rosemount, Minn. where she also teaches private piano lessons.
Ryan Beam ’04 is an assistant archivist for University of Minnesota and resides in
St. Paul, Minn.
Jennifer (Mills) Johnson ’04 was recently promoted as account executive for Imagewerks Marketing. She and her husband Andrew Johnson ’05 reside in St. Paul, Minn. Andrew works as a land analyst for Commonwealth Solutions.
Ann L. Burnside ’05 was officially installed as a DCE in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007. She left Redeemer Lutheran Church in Convoy, Ohio after serving there as a DCE for two years. Ann married Chad Horrmann ’01 in October 2007.
Eric Cannedy ’05 is the director of eCommerce and design for Signature Media Group and resides in St. Paul, Minn.
Amanda Busby ’05 works as a freelance makeup artist for Aveda doing training, fashion shows, and events, teaches theater camps for the Old Log Theater, and does modeling for various agencies in the Twin Cities. She resides in Minneapolis, Minn.
Dane Maxfield ’05 is a graduate research assistant at the University of Utah, Marice Laboratory. He resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Officer Lisa Davis ’06 was named the Officer of the Year by the International Association of Women Police. The award is given annually to an officer who, by her overall service and accomplishments throughout her career, distinguishes herself in all areas of leadership, community service, mentoring and excellence in performance.
Michael Morgan ’06 was appointed the new creative director for nParallel, an international brand, communication, merchandising and display agency. Morgan sets the strategic direction of projects with clients and guides the agency’s creative talent. Morgan was previously employed at Lipson Alport Glass & Associates, Chicago, Ill., where he was a senior brand consultant as well as ten years with Best Buy, Co., Inc., where he held senior level positions in graphic design and visual merchandising.
Ka Vue ’06 is a self-employed financial coach and resides in St. Paul, Minn.
Nicholas Koewler ’06 works for Land O’Lakes Inc. as a college recruiter and resides in Clara City, Minn.
Michael Zimmerman ’06 is pursuing a Ph.D. in bioinformatics at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
MaryEllen Hildenbrand ’06 works in customer service support for Verizon Wireless and resides in St. Paul, Minn.
Emily Reller ’07 is the program director for St. Paul Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) and resides in Lindstrom, Minn.
Rebecca (Becky) K. Opatrny ’08 will be marrying Joshua Hoffman ’08 on May 24, 2008 at Southshore Trinity Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake, Minn. May 7, 2008. Rebecca’s parents, Gene and Lisa (Hagerman ’73) Opatrny will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year.
On Saturday, Jan. 19, Criminal Justice graduate student and Police Commander Myron Wieland ’09 of the New Ulm Police Department received the J. Edgar Hoover Gold Medal Award from the Department of Minnesota Veterans of Foreign Wars at their annual Mid-Winter Conference at the Minneapolis Marriott Convention Center. He was recognized at the evening grand banquet which was attended by 450 veterans and their families. Commander Wieland received the award for his exemplary service to the New Ulm Police Department and his volunteer contributions to the community of New Ulm. The New Ulm Chief of Police, Erv Weinkauf, is also a Concordia criminal justice graduate student.
