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Services scheduled Jan. 13 for Gerry Thorson, professor emeritus of English, prolific scholar

30
January 9, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Gerald Thorson, professor emeritus of English at St. Olaf College, died Sunday, Jan. 7, of congestive heart failure at his daughter?s home in Knoxville, Tenn. He was 79. Services will be at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, in St. John?s Lutheran Church in Northfield.

Thorson served at St. Olaf for 22 years. In addition to teaching in and heading the English Department, at various times he was chair of the Language and Literature Division and acting chair of the German Department. He published more than 125 articles, reviews, poems and translations, and had just completed an English translation of the Norwegian book, The Saloonkeeper?s Daughter, scheduled to be published by Johns Hopkins Press later this year.

When he retired in 1986, Gerry Thorson reflected on the beginnings of his career, comparing it to Daniel being thrown into the lion?s den. Happily, as with Daniel, the "lions" remained calm, and Thorson went on to an illustrious career in teaching and scholarship.

"It was 1946," he said, "and I had just received my Army discharge. A friend and I had returned from a hitchhiking trip out West, and on July 2, I had a call from the president at Augsburg College asking me if I would be willing to teach a class in freshman English. ?Can you start tomorrow?? he asked."

The soft-spoken Thorson, a 1943 Augsburg graduate who had served in France, Austria and Germany with the Cannon Company of the 232nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd (Rainbow) Division of the U.S. Army, gave it some thought and said okay.

On the next day, the man who had not yet decided on a career was tossed into the "den." "I had never taught nor gone to graduate school, and I walked into a classroom filled with 30 World War II veterans. It was an eight-week course, and I had to get over my nervousness in a hurry and get to work. By the time I had finished, I had found my career."

In the next 40 years, Thorson would go on to earn both his M.A. and Ph.D., teach at three colleges and two foreign universities, become one of the nation?s leading authorities on Norwegian immigrant literature, serve on the National and Minnesota Councils of Teachers of English, and join in a scholarly group which would rewrite the book of worship for the nation?s Lutherans.

On Dec. 27, 1953, Thorson married Anneliese Staub, a native of Dresden, Germany, who was teaching at St. Olaf. Together they had six children, whom they involved in their work and travels, including sabbaticals in Iceland (1961-62) and Germany (1970-71).

Thorson left Augsburg in 1964 to become chair of the St. Olaf English Department. "He was a superb teacher, enthusiastic about the material he taught," said John Lang ?69, now a professor in Virginia who dedicated his recently published book, Understanding Fred Chappell, to Thorson.

Thorson held several positions in the Lutheran Society for Worship, Music and Arts. He chaired the commission on literature and drama, served as director of publications, and was associate editor of its quarterly, Response. This led to his selection as a member of the hymn text committee of the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship.

His personal interests included gardening, stamp-collecting, and genealogical studies. He was a devoted grandfather, delighting in the interests and accomplishments of his many grandchildren. When it became clear that his end was near, his wish was to spend the remaining time with his family, which resulted in a Tennessee Christmas surrounded by 20 children, grandchildren, and other close relatives.

He is survived by his six children: Kai Thorson, Hal Thorson, Thea (and Daniel) Yodor, Mara Thorson (and Moses Tajlili), Ingrid (and Peter) Imsdahl, Helga Thorson (and Nick Karlson); by thirteen grandchildren: Nathanael, Sarah, Naomi, Anna, and Jonathan Yodor; Layl and Kydin Field; Lars, Thor, Solveig, Marit, and Olav Imsdahl; Linnea Thorson, by one sister: Arla Marson, and by one brother: Bert (and Deanna) Thorson.

He was preceded in death by his parents, by his wife Anneliese, by his brother Marvin, and by his sisters Alice and June.

Memorials are suggested to Augsburg College, St. Olaf College, and the Northfield Retirement Center.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.