Jolicoeur Remembered

gathering The Concordia community gathered June 10 to remember the life and legacy of President Pamela Jolicoeur.

Jolicoeur died unexpectedly Wednesday, June 9, after suffering a stroke. She began serving as the college’s 10th president in 2004.

Students, faculty, alumni and staff filled the Anderson Commons for a time of prayer, hymn singing and reflection, led by campus pastors Tim Megorden and Tessa Moon Leiseth.

“We come together today to remember the gift she has been to us, and the challenge she leaves us with as this college moves forward,” Megorden said.

Meanwhile, staff, students and administrators working at the Concordia Language Villages gathered at the Villages' Peace Site near Bemidji, Minn. There they sang "Dona Novis Pacem," a Latin song meaning "grant us peace."

"We know that Pam's work is not done," said Tove Dahl, dean of Skogfjorden, the Norwegian Language Village. "She had broad influence and powerful impact."

Megorden quoted from Jolicoeur’s last chapel talk on April 23, when she spoke of the college’s role in society. “It is what we hope we are doing at Concordia,” Jolicoeur said then. “Nurturing scholars and leaders who can listen for deep and lasting truths in opposing points of view, instilling in our students the desire to live lives of gratitude for the gift we have all received in serving our brothers and sisters in the human community. So we read in the promise of Easter, reflected in the new life we see all around us.”

Megorden also read from Psalm 46, that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

In another reading, Moon Leiseth recalled a Celtic legend to “be gentle with one who walks with grief. Take time and be gentle as you walk with grief.”

David Hamilton, professor of music, recalled conversations he had with Jolicoeur. “She always seemed to care. She was always ready to listen,” Hamilton said. “We all liked her. She made you proud she was our president.”

Ernie Mancini, former director of Alumni Relations, helped recruit Jolicoeur to Concordia when she was provost at California Lutheran University, where she taught and was an administrator for 32 years. “Pam was an incredible surprise,” he said. “She came from a different part of the country and from a different spiritual journey than us, but she fit in perfectly here with her intelligence, her leadership and people skills, and her wisdom. Every day was a surprise with her.”

Athletic Director Dr. Larry Papenfuss said people feel great sorrow for her family. “Her death was a blow for everyone. All the relationships she built will be hard to replace. And now we’re starting to grasp the implications for what’s ahead. If there is a blessing in this, it’s that Pam Jolicoeur’s leadership is in place to guide us.”

Dr. Gregg Muilenburg, associate dean for core curriculum and faculty development, was a longtime friend who admired Jolicoeur’s many abilities. “She presented a first-class image for the college,” he said. “Of all the things she was, she was at first genuine. She knew where she came from and she understood where this place should be going. She had an unrelenting hope for the future of this college.”

Dr. Paul Dovre, president emeritus of Concordia College, said Concordia lost a true leader. “Pam Jolicoeur exuded confidence in herself and in all of us. We all became better at what we did because she brought out the best in us.”

Dovre said one of Jolicoeur’s gifts was her ability to share leadership and accept good ideas, wherever they came from.“She drew people in. She wanted the best advice and the best ideas that were out there, and she wasn’t afraid to use them. She simply had the capacity to bring the best out of everyone in this community. She saw the sacred in each of us.”


portrait 

Memorial Service

Video Archive (full service)

Service/Procession Photos

Program (pdf)

Service Remarks

Bishop Mark Hanson
video | written

Dr. Paul Dovre
video | written

Rev. Stephen Wold
video | written

Sue Kremser (family)
video | written

Jolicoeur's Legacy


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