Memorial Service
Peace Lutheran Church-
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Email Details
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3695 Hwy 101 N.
Plymouth, MN -
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Luther Forde
April 5, 1925 — May 18, 2020
Luther Forde
Luther Forde 4/5/1925 – 5/18/2020
Luther Forde of Plymouth passed away on May 18 th 2020. Mr. Forde, age 95, was born in Viroqua, Wisconsin and grew up on a farm in rural Ferryville, Wisconsin. He attended a country school for eight years and graduated from high school in Lansing, Iowa in 1942. He attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa for one year, then served in the U. S. Navy until 1946. He returned to Luther College, graduating in 1949 with degrees in Mathematics and Physics. In 1951 he received a Master’s Degree in Math Sciences from the University of Iowa. Since 1951 Luther lived in the Minneapolis area. In 1957 he married Ilene Knutson. They had three children: John (Catherine) in St. Paul, Jim (Sandra) in Maple Grove, and Martha (Paul) Nesheim in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Luther was an Insurance Actuary, a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He was a long-time employee of Lutheran Brotherhood (now Thrivent) where he was an Actuary and held various administrative positions.
He was preceded in death by his daughter Martha, his parents Ole and Lydia Forde and his brother Kermit. He is survived by his wife Ilene, their sons John (Catherine Reid Day) and Jim (Sandra Willson), son in-law Paul Nesheim, grandchildren, Kara Forde, Luther (Lute) and Linnea Nesheim, Steven Willson (Stacy), great-grandchildren Cora and Nolan Willson, two sisters, Gladys Nash and Elaine Larson.
He and Ilene were members of Peace Lutheran Church 3695 Co Rd. 101 N in Plymouth, MN.
Memorials may be given to Peace Lutheran Church, Luther College, or Donor’s Choice.
To view the live stream of the service copy and paste the following into your web browser: https://www.peaceofplymouth.org/
CITATION FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF COMMERCIAL SCIENCE, HONORIS CAUSA
LUTHER 0. FORDE
Luther 0. Forde, president and chief operating officer
of Lutheran Brotherhood, a fraternal benefit society,
exemplifies the employee who, through honest, competent,
hard work, climbs his way up the corporate ladder to the
presidency.
Mr. Forde grew up in Ferryville, Wisconsin, but
attended high school in Lansing, Iowa. He started as a
freshman at Luther College in 1942 and, after serving in the
U.S. Navy during World War II, graduated in 1949 with a
major in mathematics. His senior paper topic was actuarial
science. He then earned a master's degree in actuarial
science from the University of Iowa in 1951.
Mr. Forde worked for Marsh and McClennan, Inc.,
Minneapolis, as an assistant actuary before joining Lutheran
Brotherhood's actuarial staff in 1958. He was appointed
assistant vice president in 1965, advanced to vice president
in 1968 and to senior vice president in 1975. In 1983 he
was appointed executive vice president for Actuarial and
Financial Services. He was Lutheran Brotherhood's chief
actuary. Most recently, in December 1985, he was elected
president and chief operating officer. To quote Arley R.
Bjella, chairman of Lutheran Brotherhood’s board of
directors, ''We are pleased that Mr. Forde's election
recognizes a long-time officer who has had major
responsibilities through the years in building the
organization to its excellent standing within the financial
services industry."
Mr. Forde is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries and
is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He is
also a Chartered Life Underwriter. He has served on various
professional boards and committees. He is past president of
the Twin Cities Actuarial Club and has been active in the
National Fraternal Congress of America, serving as secretary
of the Actuaries Section and as a member of the Financial
Statements Committee.
Luther and his wife, Ilene, a Luther graduate in 1946,
are active members of Peace Lutheran Church in Plymouth.
They are loyal to their alma mater, not only in word but in
deed. When there is a Luther College event in the Twin
Cities area, they are there. Most recently, Luther has been
on the planning and organization committee for the Twin
Cities Alumni Golf Tournament; he and Ilene have been
organizers as well as patrons for concerts of Luther's
musical groups in the Twin Cities; and he was chairman of
the general division solicitation in The Fund for Luther.
Honest, intelligent, hardworking, modest, trustworthy,
and unassuming to a fault, these words describe Luther 0.
Forde. To quote Rueben Jacobson, past executive at Lutheran
Brotherhood, ''I honestly can't think of anyone in the
organization who doesn't trust Lute." Luther College is
proud to have one' of her sons, who so personifies the ideals
upon which this college was founded, as a positive force in
the world of commerce. It is appropriate that we honor
today one who honors what this institution strives to teach.
Mr. President, on behalf of the faculty of Luther
College, I am proud to present to you Luther 0. Forde as a
candidate for the degree of Doctor of Commercia 1 Science,
honoris causa.
Reginald Laursen
October 10, 1986
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