Dear Class of 1984,
2014 marks 30 years since we graduated from Concordia. 30 YEARS!?!?!…..where has the time gone?!?
Here’s a reminder of things that were happening back in 1984:
 Michael Jordan entered the NBA draft and signed with the Chicago Bulls
 Lee Greenwood releases “God Bless the USA”; Bruce Springsteen releases “Born in the USA”; Prince releases “Purple Rain”
 The summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles
 A movie ticket cost $2.50
 A gallon of gas was $1.10
 Clara Peller 1st asks, "Where's the Beef?"
th
 On May 4 , Dave Kingman's fly ball never comes down (stuck in Metrodome ceiling)
 Geraldine Ferraro, NY becomes 1st woman major-party VP candidate
 IBM releases PC DOS version 3.0; The first megabit chip is made at Bell Labs; Apple Computer releases the Macintosh
personal computer (note: we didn’t have cell phones or computers – we typed our papers on electric typewriters, and called
home on the land line in our dorm room)
 Ronald Reagan is President, George H.W. Bush is Vice President
 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated
 The AIDS virus is discovered
 Stonewashed and acid washed jeans are introduced; Doc Martens and leg warmers were hot fashions as was “big hair”
 Some of the things we were saying: airhead, bad, bogus, boy toy, chill, couch potato, dweeb, fer shur, fresh, gnarly, hacker,
hoser, preppy, psych, schmooze, stoked, totally, Valley Girl, veg, wannabe and yuppie.
When I think about that list, it does seem like 30 years ago! Times have changed in our 50+ years on the planet. And our class has
been very involved in those changes. From educators to musicians to accountants to business owners/managers to ranchers to
journalists – we are out there making a difference. I hope you will make an extra effort to return to campus in October for
Homecoming (October 10-12). It would be great to see you, share some old memories, hear about your life adventures and create
some new memories.
Thank you to everyone that provided an update for this letter. Now that I have all my boxes out of storage, I found my yearbooks and
added the senior class photo (or whatever photo I could find!) to jog your memory of who it is.
Joanie Eppinga, Spokane, WA. Joanie won two national press awards for "The Face of Hate," an interview
with Rebecca Barrett-Fox about Westboro Baptist Church. You can read the article here:
http://sojo.net/magazine/2012/06/face-hate Joanie has lived in Spokane for 20 years and is “hooked on
the PNW!” (Pacific Northwest).
Dan Olson, Bemidji, MN. Since I left Concordia I met a wonderful woman and entered into our family's first mixed
marriage (Lutheran and Catholic). My mother is still perplexed how I fell away from "the church". Our oldest son
attended Concordia and played in the orchestra so we started a great family tradition of attending the annual
Christmas Concert. Our second son attends Montana State in Bozeman and has been adopted by Lynn Kelting and
family. Since both boys left the house Valerie and I have become weird dog people doting over our golden
retriever. He travels, exercises, boats and entertains guests with us. We live in Bemidji where I work as President of
Sanford Medical Center and Clinics and Valerie teaches Early Childhood Family Education. If you are ever traveling
through the area and need a place to stay or a boat ride on Lake Bemidji give us a call and we'll pick you up at the
city dock by Paul and Babe! Looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion in October.
https://www.sanfordhealth.org/Newsroom/2013/07/Bemidji-New-President-and-COO
Susie Rodin (Thrall), Salem, OR. I received my MSED (Master of Science in Education) along with an ESOL (English
to Speakers of Other Languages) endorsement in June 2013; I will be teaching first grade this fall at a private
Christian school - I'm excited to be back in the classroom full-time after substitute teaching for the past four
years; my husband Jeff (also class of 84) and I are anticipating the birth of our 7th grandchild in Oct. We LOVE
being grandparents!!
Sharyl Geisert, Tilton, NH. My 13 year old daughter continues to amaze me with her many talents. During Regionals
she tied for 1st in power tumbling and placed 2nd in trampoline doing all this without a coach for two years or a
place to train. We have been blessed by coaches outside our state (there is nothing in our area any more) that make
time for us at meets to work with her. Next, Nationals!
I am also thrilled to announce that my martial arts school, White Tiger Karate will be celebrating its 10 year
anniversary! I began to study the martial arts at Concordia. What a wonderful gift I got so many years ago. My
business has been chosen as "Best Martial Arts School" in our area. This is our second year in a row of receiving this
recognition. 
Chelle Lyons Hanson. Fargo, ND. In May of this year, I retired from my position at Concordia. I served as the
Director of Student Leadership and Service for 24 years and as Assistant Dean of Student Leadership and Service for
some of that time. I decided that it was time to pursue some new challenges and upon my resignation, I learned I
was eligible for retirement! Who knew? Retirement at our age! My next steps are uncertain but for now, I feel
fortunate to be able to take some time off to explore options. I'm looking forward to a new adventure and to
staying connected with Concordia as an alumnus. I hope you're planning on coming for Homecoming and I'll see
you then.
Maria Green Cowles, Frederick, MD. I am now the dean of the Graduate School at Hood College in Frederick,
MD. While the graduate school is fairly large (1,000+ students), I feel like I'm returning to my "Concordia liberal arts
roots" by working here. On a sadder note, my dad -- former Concordia French Professor David Green -- passed away
in April. I'm happy that there is a scholarship fund now in his name to allow future Cobbers to pursue their interest
in French and international business.
Renee (Carlson) Hildebrandt, Kenyon, MN. Greetings from Southern MN! I am still living in Kenyon, MN and
teaching 2nd grade for the Kenyon-Wanamingo School district. Can't believe I've been here for 30 years! We live in
the same home I've lived in since coming here. Kevin and I have been married for 24 years. Our oldest, Sarah, just
finished her freshman year at Concordia and will be a sophomore next Fall. She had a great year and is, as of now,
majoring in Biology- not Education! Our youngest, Natalie, will be a sophomore in High School. It’s fun having Sarah
up at Concordia now- gives me a good reason to get up to Moorhead once in a while. Lisa Nyhusmoen & I plan to
come up for Homecoming. It will be fun to see classmates again!
Lea (Erickson) and Dave Brynestad. Sorry that we probably will not make the Homecoming
Reunion this year. Our son, Samuel plays football for St. John's, so we will be attending his
game. It really is hard for us to cheer for the red when the Cobbers play the Johnnies!
Mary Miller (Peterson). Manzanola, CO. It has been a long time since I have sent anything in for our class
letter. Since the class has a Facebook page, I did just post something on the page. My husband, David, and I are
retired from our USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service jobs and now devote all of our time to our sheep
ranch in southeastern Colorado and our lamb meat business. We go to the Saturday Boulder Farmers’ Market,
sell to small high end restaurants in the Boulder/Denver area, and ship to customers all around the US. It is a fun,
new life adventure for us. We have had the ranch for 20 years. On the class’ Facebook page, I posted that I have
entered the ranch in the Intuit Small Business Big Game contest. The ultimate prize is an ad paid by Intuit played
during the 2014 Super Bowl. I put the link to vote for the ranch on there. We are having a lot of fun with
this. We email over 500 customers regarding market specials each week. They are voting for us in addition to
many family and friends. I joke that it would be a hoot if we won and an even bigger hoot if the Broncos ended up in the Super
Bowl. Then I tell people that the Broncos would take us with them for Super Bowl week and the game. During the game, we would
watch it in a clubhouse with John Elway. One can always dream. The ranch has a website— www.triplembar.com —and a Facebook
page—Triple M Bar Ranch. You can visit these to see life on the ranch. There is never a dull moment in our ranch life. I have a stepson
and stepdaughter and six grandchildren. I am Grammy, and David is Da. It is nice to get the class letter as I do not get back to MN very
often due to our busy ranch life. I had always wanted to live in Colorado. We live on the bluffs over the Arkansas River an hour east of
Pueblo. We look over the river valley and can see Pikes Peak, the Spanish Peaks, Wet Mountains, and Sangre de Cristo Mountains
from our ranch. Life is good.
Tracy Grorud-Lovley, San Diego, CA. I was a music major in 1984. 'Hi' to
Julia Kramer-Simon and Frank Felice both of whom I spent many music
hours with. I lived across the hall from Sunni Lee in the Fjelstad dorm
during our freshman year and was roommates and friends with Jeannie
Benson and Laura Olson whom I'd very much like to reconnect with. I went
to graduate school at the U of A in Tucson with Roxanne Freeh, but I didn't
quite finish my masters. I have been teaching piano since 1994 and own lovleysmusic.com and have music stores on Amazon and
Ebay. I was President of the Music Teachers' Association (MTAC) San Diego Branch for 6 years and ran a music testing program called
'Certificate of Merit' for 5 years. I am currently the program chair for 'Kids Into Music', a non-profit scholarship program sponsored by
MTAC that helps needy children pay for music lessons. I have also worked in accounting for many years and worked for the Circle K
Corporation, San Diego Convention Center and the WD40 Company. I enjoyed all those jobs but I like working for myself the best. I
met my husband in Tucson in 1990, got married in 1991 and we still go back to Tucson quite often as his parents still live there. We
have been in San Diego since 1997 when Gerald got out of the Navy.
Ronald K. Overson, Minneapolis, MN. CPA business is good, partner title is a privilege, though I still tend to think of
myself as the guy who couldn’t get bond discount and premium amortizations correct in Accounting 101. But
then, I don’t use them all that often either. I’m fortunate to have found a career, firm, and clients that I
thoroughly enjoy! My wife, Cynthia, was on the Concordia Alumni Ireland bicycle trip with Chris Bellefeuille (1982)
last month. When I saw the newsletter, I thumped my head, thinking I should have figured out the connection
earlier (Chris and your husband Jim are cousins!). Cynthia thoroughly enjoyed Chris (and Ted and all the others).
Thor Tolo, Seattle, WA. Thor Tolo has accepted an offer to become Visiting Professor of Communications at
Northwest University in Kirkland, WA. He will teach Media Writing, Mass Communication, and Introduction to New
Media after earning his Master of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington. Thor signed on
to host a daily radio show with the Executive Director of the Family Policy Institute of Washington.
Also, Thor wishes to extend his warmest, most sincere congratulations to Rev. Dale Moe ('84) for his much
deserved honor as an inductee this October to the Concordia Athletics Hall Of Fame.
Mark Beenken, Eden Prairie, MN. After nearly 30 years living in the Rocky Mountain States we moved back home
to Minnesota from Colorado this past year; we now live in Eden Prairie, MN. Still working for Biogen Idec, Inc. (a
pharmaceutical company) as a Regional Sales Director. Our daughter Mary (Concordia grad 2012) is a student at
Luther Seminary and our daughter Rachel is a student at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. After 22 years
of teaching my wife Beth is enjoying volunteering and looking forward to her next career endeavor (still to be
determined). It’s been great to reconnect on a more frequent basis with many Cobber friends in the Cities this
past year. I’m planning to make it up to Homecoming in the fall for our 30th Reunion.
Karen Lybeck, Mankato, MN. This fall, I will start my 9th year at Minnesota State University, Mankato. I am
currently an Associate Professor of English and the director the Teaching English as a Second Language program
here. I teach ESL teacher education courses to graduate students and upper division undergraduates. My courses
primarily focus on how to teach English pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and discourse for academic use, as
well as sociolinguistics and second language acquisition theory. I love teaching the diverse students I have from a
variety of ages, native-languages, teaching experiences, and teaching goals. On the home front, I’ve been married
to Rick for 23 years, and we have two daughters: Nora 13, Klara 9. (I personally think we're in over our heads with
the 13 year-old – but don’t tell her that.) Still connected with Norway – we’re having numerous visitors this
summer. I think the biggest change is that I took up hockey about 5 years ago. If any of you play on a women’s team and are looking
for a tournament, we have one here in Mankato in September.
Carrie (Miller) and Clifton Franklund, Big Rapids, MI. Carrie (Miller) Franklund has a new position
as the Academic Communications and Event Coordinator at Ferris State University. She will be
directly reporting to the Provost. Clifton Franklund was promoted to full professor of
Microbiology at Ferris State University. In addition, he was appointed as the General Education
Coordinator. We will be attending Homecoming this year; we look forward to seeing you there.
Julia (Kramer) Simon, Palo Alto, CA. Julia is now in her fifth year as Artistic Director of the Silicon Valley Boychoir
which is her excuse for missing Concordia’s homecoming. In addition to the boychoir, Julia sings in the classical
choral group Soli Deo Gloria and with a small jazz choir, the San Andreas Singers. Married 27 years and still living in
Palo Alto, one daughter is finishing up college and one son is a sophomore in high school. Empty nest is on the
horizon!
Deb (Wilson) Nygaard, Mounds View, MN. Deb is going on her 25th year at ACR Homes as the Director of
Development. She has been married to her husband Mark for 29 years, and they have two boys, Jason (20) and
Bobby (16). She is within about a month of being the shortest person in her family! Deb loves to garden and to
volunteer, and the whole family volunteers at North Heights Church. Her mid-life crisis isn't too risky; she started
learning to play the cello a few years ago along with her son.
Holly Crothers (Anderson). Since the last class reunion I started running and have competed in several marathons. The first full
marathon I ran in was the 2010 Fargo Marathon. At that marathon I qualified for the Boston and the New York City Marathon. So, I
ran Boston in 2011, Chicago in 2011, Tucson in 2012, New York City in 2013 and this year I ran in the Boston 2014 Marathon. Each
marathon has been a challenge and has taught me something about myself and about life. I am looking forward to attending our class
reunion. I find it hard to believe it has been 30 years. Yikes!!
A quick update on me, Sherri (Sykes) Bellefeuille. My husband, Jim (1985) and I have been married for 29 years
and currently live in Kirkland, WA. I say currently because we have a habit of moving. At last count, we have
moved 17 times in our 29 years together. We really love the Pacific Northwest, and our current plan is to STAY
PUT and retire here!! We did love our time in the desert (living in Tucson, AZ from 2010 – 13), so I suspect an
th
annual return trip will be in order to get a refill on sunshine. Jim teaches 8 grade at Rose Hill Middle School,
and I am in Windows Marketing at Microsoft. Our daughter, Samantha, is 23, graduated from Central
Washington University last June and lives and works in Ellensburg, WA. Our son, Joe, is 22, graduated from the
University of Arizona in May and is in search of his first career job. Jim and I look forward to attending our
reunion in October.
Special honor: Dale Moe will be inducted into the Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame, so it will be great to honor
him at our reunion in October. Rumor has it that both he and Sunni will be at the reunion.
th
You are highly encouraged to attend Homecoming 2014 to celebrate our 30 Reunion.
More details will come soon on what, when and where our class will get together.
Watch your mail for registration information. Get up-to-date information by joining the Concordia College Homecoming Facebook
page, or go to the website: http://www.concordiacollege.edu/homecoming
Here are some updates from Concordia that may be of interest to you:
Music
 The Concordia Orchestra completed a historic tour of the Holy Land in May 2014. They shared two concert performances with
members of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music orchestra, one in Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jerusalem.
 The Concordia Choir will tour the southeastern United States from February 21st through March 8th, 2015 during its National
Tour.
 The Concordia Band completed a spring tour in February 2014 through Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Preparation for tour
2015 is under way, which will take them to the Pacific Northwest February 1st to 8th.
Athletics
 On May 5, 2014, the baseball field was named in honor of 36-year Head Coach Bucky Burgau, who is stepping down at the
end of the 2014 season. Former World Series winning Philadelphia Phillies Chris Coste ’00 will take over as manager while
Bucky will continue on as an assistant coach. Burgau is the all-time winningest coach in MIAC baseball history. He recently
became the first coach in the history of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to earn his 700th career win. He
has the 12th most wins of any active coach in all of NCAA Division III.
 The Update the Jake Project has reached completion. The venture included FieldTurf, Parking Lots,
Stadium Upgrades, and a Multi-Sports Locker Room. The official dedication for these updates and
new facilities will be at Homecoming this year, 2014.
Concordia Language Villages

This summer, we will be dedicating the new Swedish library during the midsummer celebration on August 3, 2014. The structure
of International Day, to be held July 4 and August 8, 2014, has been reinvigorated and will include a focus on welcoming home
alumni. An alumni reception will be held in the afternoon during both International Days. Summer 2015, we will be celebrating
50 years of the Russian Language Village as well as celebrating 50 years of owning the Turtle River Lake site.
Sustainability
Our campus community continues to be committed to becoming ecologically literate – doing what we can within our own footprint to
protect and preserve Earth. A couple of examples are:
 Fifty percent of Concordia's electricity is provided by renewable energy. Hydroelectric power is generated from dams along the
Missouri River. Wind power is acquired from turbines in Rugby, N.D. and Worthington, Marshall and Odin, Minn.
 Concordia Dining Services limits food waste by: sending produce trimmings to Jones Science Center for animal consumption;
trayless dining in Anderson Commons; and donating overproduced food to the Great Plains Food Bank.
Cobber History Harvest
Help us harvest Concordia’s past! During Homecoming, the Concordia archives and history department invite Cobber alumni to join
students and professors in a unique community-based history project.
Share your stories and experiences from your years at Concordia. Bring your memories so that we can record them, or bring photos,
documents, letters, memorabilia, clothing or any other items that tell your Cobber story. With permission, your items will be
photographed/scanned and included in the college archives and available for use by students, faculty and the interested public. We
want to create a resource to help others better understand the rich and diverse histories and experiences of Cobber and how those
stories connect to the history of college, community, state and nation. Watch for more information in the Alumni Relations’ summer
mailer.
Loyal Cobber Program
Do you bleed maroon and gold? Are you wearing your Cobber ring? Then you just might be a Loyal Cobber. Get a prize by completing
the four steps below and reporting what you've done at ConcordiaCollege.edu/loyalcobber.
 CONNECT: Stay Informed
Verify/update your contact information online or by phone to stay connected
 ENGAGE: Get Involved
Participate, mentor or volunteer
 SUPPORT: Make an Impact
Give a gift of any size each year: support student scholarships at Cord.edu/give
 SHARE: Show Your Cobber Pride
Wear your Cobber swag or interact with us on social media using #cordmn
ConcordiaCollege.edu/LoyalCobber
It is great to hear from so many of you – thanks to those that sent an update. And for those that didn’t send an update, I’d love to
hear from you! Send me an email anytime. Or, keep in touch via our class Facebook page: Concordia College Class of 1984. And
because I finally have my boxes out of storage, I will be rummaging through old photos. You never know what I might find and share
via Facebook. 
May this greeting find you exactly where you want to be, doing exactly what you want to do.
See you at Homecoming.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Sherri (Sykes) Bellefeuille
Class Agent, Class of 1984
[email protected]