April 23, 2025
Jeanette Irene Pidde; Janice Elaine Evers; Bruce Lawrence Toll; Mark Allen Evers; Joanne Marie Wall; and Mary Ann Prechel — it’s been a difficult few months saying goodbye to many of my congregants and friends. They each lived good lives and leave behind legacies that’ll hopefully endure for generations to come. Like them, I’ll also not forget Elmer Gustaf Alexanderson.
Elmer was a character and a half. While he was known to tell a “fish story” or two, believe it or not, he once caught a 45” Northern Pike. Now, you might be thinking (as I did): “No Way!” But so that everyone would believe his tale, he mounted and hung that monster to his basement wall. Goodness – Elmer was a hoot.
While I’ll miss his humor, I’ll mostly miss his loving heart. A tender soul, Elmer cared for everyone he met. He made us all laugh and loved us even more. His legacy is one I hope the generations to come will remember as I have.
A part of that legacy is the gift Elmer created notably for me. Hanging on our dining room wall is a portrait of Jesus he painted some years ago. I can’t walk by it and not think of Elmer and the Savior he loved. Like many of us, Elmer was a man of faith. For those of you who don’t know, Elmer was my wife’s grandfather; and like my New Hope brothers and sisters, he passed just weeks ago at the young age of 102. I’m truly gonna miss him dearly.
Elmer was born on February 13, 1923, in Norway, Michigan, the son of the Nels and Wilmont Alexanderson. Elmer’s father, Nels, was born in 1882 in Sweeden, emigrating from his homeland after his service to the crown. But just five years after Elmer was born, Nels passed away at the age of 46. Having never remarried, Wilmont raised her children as a widow, eventually living across the street from Elmer until she too passed away at 102.
Just years after Nels and Wilmont were born, so too was the little town where I live. Yet, even before Comfrey was incorporated, the two founding congregations that became New Hope had already formed. Among the founders were Gustaf and Margareta Odean (of Faith Lutheran); and Eugene Salzmann (Salem Lutheran), who all passed away before Elmer’s father was even 10.
As I strolled through our church’s cemeteries, it struck me: they’ve all been gone for so long —each passing away decades before my wife’s grandfather was born. As I stood near their graves, I wondered who they were and all they endured: the native, untilled landscape; and the raw and rustic prairie that held memories of people long gone. Gustaf and Margareta passed into eternity over 127 years ago. It seems like it was so long ago; but in the span of eternity, it was but a moment ago.
(The Book of) Job says that our lives are like a breath (Job 7:7). James, the brother of our Lord, said that our lives are like the morning mist—fleeting and brief; here in one moment, then gone in another (James 4:14). These notions are humbling, reminding us that our time on this earth is transient. And yet, our souls are eternal. All that we do now will forever be remembered and be revealed before our eyes (Revelation 20:11–15).
I bet Gustaf and Margareta Odean, and Eugene Salzmann knew this too. In many ways, they were the pioneers who built the foundations on which we worship and stand. As I thought about all this while standing mesmerized near their graves, I concluded: we too must preserve an enduring legacy of Christ’s love for the generations to come. We owe it to them, as well as to Jeanette, Janice, Bruce, Mark, Joanne, Mary Ann; and yes even to Elmer, to continue the legacy given to us for generations to come.
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