Theodore Thuesen Obituary

Theodore Thuesen

The Rev. Professor Theodore (Ted) Johannes Thuesen died on July 11, 2024, in Hickory, NC, at age 96.

Ted was born March 7, 1928, in Cedar Falls, IA, to Theodore J. Thuesen and Christine Jensen Thuesen. He grew up on his parents' farm between Cedar Falls and Dike, Iowa. He attended Grand View University (then a junior college) and Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, graduating in 1949. He served briefly as a public school teacher before being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After his stint in the army (1951-53), he earned an M.Div. from Grand View Seminary (later absorbed by the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago). He also earned an M.A. in sociology at the University of Iowa and completed additional graduate work at the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, and Appalachian State University.

Ted was ordained in 1956 by the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (formerly the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). He served two parishes, Bethesda Lutheran Church in Newark, NJ (1956-59) and Hope Lutheran Church in Enumclaw, WA (1959-63). After leaving parish ministry, he served on the sociology faculty of Pacific Lutheran University (1963-67). In 1967, he joined the faculty of Lenoir-Rhyne College (now University), from which he retired in 1994 at the rank of Professor. In 1981, he received Lenoir-Rhyne's Raymond M. Bost Distinguished Professor Award. Ted always said the move to Hickory was his best decision ever because there he met his wife, Mary Caroline Wise, a native of Columbia, SC. Mary and Ted both came to Lenoir-Rhyne to work in September 1967, she as a librarian and he as a sociology professor. They were married the following year. Together they raised two children, both of whom became college professors.

Ted was proud of his Danish heritage (all four of his grandparents were immigrants from Denmark) and twice visited relatives in Denmark. He also enjoyed the academic life and his many colleagues and students at Lenoir-Rhyne. At both work and home, he was a reliable source of kindness, comfort, wisdom, and good humor.

Ted was preceded in death by an infant son, Erik Daniel Thuesen; a son-in-law, Scott Clarke; and his two siblings, Neal Thuesen and Carol DeYoung. He is survived by Mary, his wife of 56 years; a son, Peter Thuesen (of Indianapolis), and his wife, Jane Kenyon, and their children, Isaac, Joanna, and Margaret; a daughter, Sarah Thuesen (of Carrboro, NC), and her children, Henry and Ida; sister-in-law Jeanne Thuesen (of Cedar Falls, IA) and brother-in-law Gordon DeYoung (of Hopkins, MN); and numerous nieces and nephews.

A funeral for Ted will be held at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Hickory, NC, on August 17 at 11 a.m. Memorials may be made to St. Andrew's or to Lenoir-Rhyne University.