June 5, 2005 - Memorial Service
When I finally decided where I would go to undergrad college (Florida State or University of Minnesota-Duluth; I’m not to sure most people would choose Northern Minesota over Florida, but I did 
the dorms were already full, so I was looking for off-campus housing. There was this house with 3 guys looking for a 4th, and there was this house with a nice Lutheran family that rented out a room on the third floor. My mother, in her no doubt motherly instincts, sensed that the house with the Lutherans would be better than a house with three 18 year olds (and she was probably right!) I only protested briefly as Mom said she’d only pay for housing if I lived in the house with the family and that I could look for a different place the following year.
It turns out that I lived there for all 4 years of college, made lifelong friends (including Mike and Lori whose cabin we stayed at on the way up), learned about Lutheran food groups, and was led to Linda, and eventually blessed with Claire, Emma, and Martin. To this day, I still keep in touch with each member of the family.
I hadn’t seen Dean for probably 4 years - he had Parkinson’s and kept requiring more care resources. Dean was all about making the world a better place - from his job working with students, to his work establishing a multi-denominational outreach to those less fortunate in Duluth. From the memorial service, one verse sticks out as a principle that helped Dean define his life - “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto Me.”
Before the funeral we had a few minutes to spare, so we went to Chester Bowl which wasn’t too far from where the house was.
Here’s Martin looking at the ski jump his father used to climb at night to look at the lake and city.
Like most Duluthians, we’re not afraid to head down to the water in our dress clothes and do a little bushwacking (Martin and Linda both ended up with mud on their shirts/hose.
