Gangstead, Owen Rev. -- 1913 - 2004
GANGSTEAD, PETERSON, SHEFVELAND, DAVEY, KREMER, FERGUSON, GATES, NOVY
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 7/24/2012 at 17:35:51
Rev. Owen Gangstead, age 90 of Decorah, died on Thursday, June 17, 2004 at Aase Haugen Home following a long illness.
Memorial Service is on Monday, July 5, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. at Decorah Lutheran Church in Decorah, IA by Rev. James Glesne. There was a private family burial at Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah. There is no visitation. Fjelstul Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Owen Gangstead was born on October 4, 1913, in Linn Grove, Iowa, the second child of Matt and Anna (Shefveland) Peterson. Within six months tuberculosis claimed his mother, and Matt’s efforts to hold the family together were not feasible. Thereafter Owen was raised by his father’s sister and her husband, Hannah and Hans Gangstead, on their family farm near Goldfield. He was educated at Goldfield High School and at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1936. For the next three years he was a high school teacher and coach.
Owen recounted experiencing an unyielding call to the ministry, and in 1939 he began studies at Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He graduated in 1943, and in the same year was ordained in his rural Goldfield parish (Lake) and then installed as pastor of Lakeview Lutheran Church, north of Saint Paul. On Thanksgiving Day 1943 he married Doris Davey at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the start of an enduring and devoted life partnership. Owen and Doris went on to serve Illinois congregations in Long Lake (Trinity) and Chicago (Grace). Their family grew to include Lois, Rebecca, Stephen and Daniel.
In early 1957 Owen became pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City, Iowa, where he served until 1975. There he also worked closely with Waldorf College and was chairman of its Board of Regents for several years. His commitment to Lutheran higher education guided him to accept a call from Luther College to establish an Office of Church Relations. He retired from the College in 1983, although he never stopped a heartfelt advocacy and ebullient support for Luther, and not least its athletic teams. He and Doris remained engaged in the faith and life of the Decorah community, with Owen performing clergy duties part time at area churches and serving nearly two years as chaplain at the Aase Haugen Home. Owen valued his long time membership in the Luren Singing Society, and took part as steadfastly as he could until his 90th birthday and just beyond.
At a convocation in February 2003 Owen was honored with the ‘Spirit of Luther’ award in recognition of his contributions to the College. The citation thanked him "for being a reminder to us of God’s expansive graciousness," and suggested that "perhaps he always has a smile because he knows how the story comes out: to have a passion for learning and be guided by God’s spirit leads to a life of integrity and richness beyond all measure." Owen was always a friend and encourager, and his indefatigable zeal for prayer, praise and pastoral outreach marked him up to and on June 17, 2004.
Owen was preceded in death by Doris in November 2002. He is survived by Lois and Ulrich Kremer (Helmstedt, Germany), Rebecca Ferguson (Spring, Texas), Stephen (Minneapolis), and Dan (Decorah); by his nine grandchildren: Johanna, Nikolaus, Susanne, Pamela, Tim, Peter, Elisabeth, Rachel and Jonas; by his brother Harold Gangstead, sisters Ruby (Peterson) Gates and Enid (Gangstead) Novy; and by his precious extended family.
Source: Fjelstel Funeral Home database
Lutheran Cemetery, Decorah
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
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