Hjelle, Paul R. Rev. 1936 - 2017

HJELLE, KNUDSVIG, GREVSTAD, PESAVENTO, OLSON, SCHUMACHER, ROHLFS, MILLER, MCFALL

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 5/19/2024 at 21:00:48

Rev. Paul R. Hjelle, age 80 of Decorah, IA, passed away on Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at his home in Decorah.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, November 6, 2017 at First Lutheran Church in Decorah with Rev. Chad Huebner and Rev. Henrik Engebretson officiating. Private Family Inurnment will be in Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah.

Visitation will be from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, November 5 at Fjelstul Funeral Home in Decorah.

Paul was born in Fargo, N.D. on December 8, 1936, the second of four children of Albert and Alice (Knudsvig) Hjelle. After living in several communities in North Dakota and Minnesota, the family settled in Spring Grove, MN in 1944, where Paul attended the Spring Grove Schools, graduating in 1954. While in high school he participated in many activities including football, basketball, track, baseball, choir, band, drama, and student government. Paul entered Luther College in the fall of 1954 where he majored in biology. He was a starter on the football team for three seasons and played on two Iowa Conference championship teams and on the first Luther team to play in a bowl game, a victory over Western Illinois in the 1956 Corn Bowl. He also participated in student government while at Luther, including a stint as student body president during his senior year. After graduating in 1958, he worked for the Luther admissions office for one year, before entering Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN. in 1959. In 1960 he married Agnes Grevstad and the couple had two children John, born in 1964 and Beth, born in 1969. Upon graduating from the seminary in 1963, Paul was ordained at First Lutheran Church in Decorah before beginning his ministry at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, an inner city church in Los Angeles. He served as associate pastor during a time of great civil unrest in Los Angeles and around the nation. In 1966 he returned to Luther as associate campus pastor and student services director. During his time at Luther he truly became a Renaissance person, teaching a class called Religion and Personality, while working as an assistant football coach, and becoming an occasional member of the college concert band and orchestra. He was awarded a Danforth Scholarship in 1973 and spent a year studying at the University of Iowa. After leaving Luther in 1985, he pursued his interest in psychology and became a licensed psychologist in 1988. Thereafter he worked as a psychologist for Lutheran Social Services in Minneapolis and in Lincoln, Neb, and for the Miller-Dwan Medical Center in Duluth, MN. In 1998 he began serving several parishes as interim pastor in the Northwest Minnesota District of the ELCA, and did the same on two different occasions at a parish in Clermont, Ia. Upon retirement in 2006, Paul returned to Decorah continuing to read and study theology. As a member of First Lutheran Church, he has taught classes on the book of Revelation and a class entitled “How to Read the Bible.” He also enjoyed time attending events at Luther, and spending time with his children, grandchildren, siblings and friends.

Paul is survived by his children, John Hjelle (Tracy) of Decorah and Beth Pesavento (Arthur) of Lemont, IL; grandchildren Joseph, Erik, Clara Hjelle and Katherine, Ann Marie Pesavento; brother Keith Hjelle (Susan) of Guthrie Center, IA; sister Ruth Ann Hjelle (Erik Olson) of Sister Bay, WI; along with nephews and nieces Mike Schumacher of Eau Claire, WI, Karen Rohlfs (Don) of Cincinnati, OH, Ryan Miller (Brandie) of O’Fallon, MO, and Sara McFall of Eureka, IL.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Alice and Albert, as well as his sister Ila Mae Schumacher (Noel) and nephew Timothy Schumacher.

Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database

Lutheran Decorah Cemetery
 

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