Halvorson Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund

The Halvorson Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in November, 1981, by brothers Carl, Halvor, and Elling Halvorson. The fund was established to honor the memory of their parents Elling, Sr., and Beda Halvorson, and their sister Evelyn and her husband Herman. Elling and Beda were immigrants of Norwegian and Swedish descent who met and married in St. Paul, Minn., in 1915. After traveling in Scandinavia, where their first two sons were born, they returned to St. Paul, and during World War II settled in Salem, Oregon, where Elling, Sr., established himself as a major contractor in the Pacific Northwest. They were charter members of Central Lutheran Church in Salem, Oregon, where Elling, Sr., served on the church council and Beda served as the Sunday School superintendent and youth counselor. Their sons followed Elling into the contracting business, while his daughter married and moved to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. She died unexpectedly in 1976, and shortly thereafter, her husband died in a plane crash while flying a missionary’s son to British Columbia. This fund provides important support for financially deserving M.Div. middler or senior students in good academic standing preparing for parish ministry. The earnings of this fund are to be distributed in scholarships of four equal amounts.