Florence L. Sponberg

Florence Larson Sponberg, 97, died September 27, 2014, at her home in the company of family. While her last several years had been severely compromised by the discomfort of arthritis and eventually, kidney failure, she remained a reader, thinker, and seeker to the end. A visitation will be offered at Northview-North Mankato Mortuary, 2060 Commerce Street, North Mankato, on Wednesday, October 1, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The memorial service celebrating Florence's life will be held at Grace Lutheran Church, Fourth and Main Streets in Mankato, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 2. The service will be preceded by special organ music and followed by a lunch at the church. Florence was born April 3, 1917, to the Rev. Albin Larson and Olga Longren Larson in Thief River Falls, Minn. She attended the public schools of Thief River Falls and Warren, Minn., and attended high school at North Star College in Warren, where her father was principal. She graduated summa cum laude from Concordia College in Moorhead in 1937 with a B.A. degree in German and English. After college she began a teaching career that in a sense set a course for the rest of her life. She taught for seven years in Twin Valley and Austin, Minn., secondary schools. It was in Austin that she met Raymond Sponberg, whom she married in May 1942. He joined the war effort by enlisting in the Army Air Corps, and upon his discharge in 1946, they settled in Mankato, and later North Mankato, where they raised their family. Ray passed away in 2000. They are survived by four children: Michael Sponberg of North Mankato, Miriam (Steven) Kagol of Deephaven, Elaine (Morris) Larson of Ballwin, Mo., and Ann (Gregory) Peterson of Decorah, Ia. As a minister's eldest child, Florence was taught early to play piano and organ, and she grew passionately fond of the liturgical music and hymns of the Lutheran church. At 16, she was organist of her local church in Warren, Minn., and she served as organist in Lutheran churches in Austin, Minn., Dallas, Tex., and Mankato, the latter at Grace Lutheran Church where she had been a member for over 60 years. As she continually quested for a deeper understanding of theology and many other aspects of a spiritual life, the music of the church always anchored and supported her. Her other passions were words, education, and thoughtful conversation. She began teaching at Mankato State College in 1956, where she was working on a master's degree when the need for instructors to teach servicemen returning from Korea prompted her hiring as a freshman composition instructor. During her 26 years at the college, she participated in such activities as the International Students' Organization, the Commission on the Status of Women in Education, and many others. She also served on the boards of the Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Lutheran Social Service organization, and the Minnesota Humanities Commission. Florence and Ray were active in their community, committed to investing in and strengthening organizations serving the common good. Their belief in education led them to endow more than two dozen scholarships at several high schools and colleges with which they had connections. They endowed a chair in ethics at Gustavus Adolphus College and established there an annual Mayday! Peace and Justice Conference that has continued for over 30 years. In 1992 they created the Raymond H. and Florence L. Sponberg Foundation, through which they, their children and their grandchildren are able to support the causes of education, peace and justice, music, and the Lutheran Church. Together they were granted a number of recognitions, including the Heritage Club of Gustavus, the Mankato Book of Golden Deeds Award, the Greater Gustavus Award, and the Concordia College Soli Deo Gloria Award. Florence herself received the Concordia Distinguished Alumna Achievement Award, the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congegations Covenant Award, and, in 2002, a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the College. She also served Gustavus, her adopted college, as an elected Trustee for four terms, during which time her voice and vote could be counted on to advocate for students, faculty and campus employees. Her last years were enhanced by the good company and conversation of friends, the Mankato Area Lifelong Learners organization, and Mankato Senior Spellers (she won a trophy as Steele County Champion in the 2006 senior spelling bee). The compassionate care of Mayo Clinic Hospice and Home Instead services kept her comfortable and engaged with the world near the end. In addition to her children, she is survived by four grandchildren: Alison (Erik) Anderson of Edina, Joseph (Jessica Sebold) Kagol of Sandpoint, Ida., Liv (Charles) Andrews of Spokane, Wash., and Blake Larson of St. Louis, Mo.; three great-grandsons, Ray and Mac Anderson and Arlo Andrews; sisters Naomi Johnshoy of Crookston and Evodia Linner of Edina, and sisters-in-law Judy Larson Johnson of Edina, and Ruth Sponberg Cook of Spring Park, as well as many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to scholarship funds at Concordia College, Gustavus Adolphus College and Minnesota State University Mankato; Grace Lutheran Church; or Mayo Clinic Hospice Program would be deeply appreciated. "For the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God. For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God. For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us, most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God." ~Fred Pratt Green