Memorial Service for Jolicoeur Brings Comfort

The death of Dr. Pamela Jolicoeur will leave a dull ache that reminds us of the greatness of our loss and the depths of our love, but that emptiness is not the final story, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said June 14.
 
"When that dull ache gets so heavy … remember we are Easter people," said the Rev. Mark Hanson during a memorial service for Jolicoeur.
 
Hanson was one of several speakers who offered words of gratefulness for Jolicoeur's life and words of comfort for her family, friends and colleagues. More than 800 people gathered at a memorial service at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead.
 
Jolicoeur died June 9 at the age of 65.
 
"God was mighty abundant when God passed out gifts to this woman," Hanson said as he recalled the president's ability to imagine new possibilities while remaining committed to the church.
 
Jolicoeur, who spent most of her life in California, found peace and contentment at Concordia where freezing temperatures, rising floodwaters and blizzards are part of the "natural wonder," said Dr. Paul Dovre, president emeritus of the college.
 
She embraced the college's traditions and challenged its faculty, students and staff to grow.
 
"The sense of momentum is palpable," Dovre said as he listed the accomplishments Jolicoeur brought to fruition during her tenure. He recalled telling Jolicoeur's mother that the president had given the best six years of her life to the college.
 
"(Pam's mother) told me they were the happiest six," Dovre said.
 
Jolicoeur's family knew she was in the right place when she came to Concordia, said Jolicoeur's sister, Sue Kremser.
 
"The faculty, staff and students were a gift to Pam on a daily basis," she said. "Through her, we all felt like true Cobbers."
 
That Cobber spirit took on a physical presence when about 100 alumni from The Concordia Choir sang a prayer written by Mother Teresa and "O Day Full of Grace" during the service.
 
During Jolicoeur's installation in 2005, she encouraged the Concordia community to overcome its "militant modesty," recalled the Rev. Stephen Wold, senior pastor at Trinity Lutheran. She understood that heaven and earth are overlapping realities and the resurrection of Jesus brings them closer together, he said.
 
"She embodied the vision of colonizing earth with the life of heaven," he said.
 
After the service, the congregation followed the family to a fellowship time in Anderson Commons, Knutson Campus Center, at Concordia. The procession, led by Jolicoeur's family and the pastors who presided over the service, stretched for nearly two blocks.
 
As the crowd walked onto campus, the bells rang tones that sound on Commencement, a time of celebration and sending forth.
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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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