Wallace and Merle Gronseth Endowed Scholarship Fund

The Wallace and Merle Gronseth Endowed Scholarship Fund was established through a gift to the American Lutheran Church from Wally and Merle Gronseth in 1985. The Gronseths were active lay leaders and longtime members in their congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran, in St. Cloud, Minn., and saw the seminary as a training ground for future church leaders. Wally expressed a sure faith that no matter what he faced in life, Christ would sustain him and grant him the strength to meet his needs. Wally was raised in Minot, N.D., by his mother, after his father died in a farming accident when Wally was one year old. Wally and Merle were high school sweethearts and had been married for fifty-four years when he died in 2003. This fund provides important financial support for deserving students in any degree program.