Carl G. Bjelland and Minnie L. Bjelland Endowed Scholarship Fund at Luther Seminary

The Rev. Carl G. Bjelland and Minnie L. Bjelland Endowed Scholarship Fund was established through a gift from the estate of their daughter, Lois G. Bjelland, who died in 2010. Her father, Rev. Carl G. Bjelland, was a Lutheran minister, and one of the founders of Fairview Hospital in Minneapolis. Lois graduated from St. Olaf College in 1938 with a nursing degree. During World War II, she served in the US Army Nurse Corps and, following her honorable discharge in 1947, she worked as a school nurse in Gary, Indiana. In 1961, she was recalled to active military duty and was stationed at William Beaumont General Hospital in El Paso, Texas. She earned the rank of captain in the Army Medical Service before her deactivation in 1962. Lois returned to Minnesota, worked at St. Olaf College, served in the Minnesota National Guard attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring. Lois was an active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Northfield. This scholarship will provide important support to deserving Luther Seminary students in any degree program preparing for a career in Lutheran ministry with preference given to students who are relatives of Lois G. Bjelland.