Concordia presents special awards to alumni and friends at 2015 Homecoming

The Concordia Alumni Association at Concordia University, Nebraska honored six individuals and one couple as part of its 2015 Homecoming and Alumni Reunion Weekend celebration, Oct. 9-11. The awards are given each year to recognize the service and accomplishments of Concordia’s alumni and friends.

This year’s awards and honorees include:

• Alumnus of the Year: Rev. Dr. Ray Mirly ’66, St. Louis, Mo.
• Young Alumna of the Year: Dr. Michelle Quinlan ’05, Morris Plains, N.J.
• Mission & Ministry Award: Rev. Brad Birtell ’88, Madison, Neb.
• Church Leadership Award: Dr. Carolyn (Stroebel) Sims ’66, Mission Viejo, Calif.
• Lifetime Service Award: Judith Duda, Oviedo, Fla.
• Honorary Alumni Award: Jerrald Pfabe, Seward, Neb.
• Friends of Concordia Award: Norman and Joyce Riffel, Springfield, Neb.

Alumnus of the Year: Rev. Dr. Ray Mirly ’66

Rev. Dr. Ray Mirly, a former teacher and pastor and President Emeritus of the LCMS Missouri District, has used his God-given talents in ways that demonstrate Concordia’s mission in action through service and leadership in the church and world. He has demonstrated deep and abiding faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and love for his wife, Debbie, and the church that he and Debbie have served so well.

A graduate of Concordia Teachers College, as well as St. Paul’s College in Concordia, Missouri, Mirly served early in his career as a Lutheran elementary school and junior high school teacher, coach and athletic director in two schools in Minnesota and Michigan.

In 1977 he was certified to be a pastor in the LCMS and earned his Master of Arts from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1978.  He served as a pastor for 29 years at two different congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and as president of the LCMS Missouri District for nine years.

Mirly appreciates his Concordia experience and has used it to fuel involvement in the church. “Concordia was foundational to my life of service as teacher, pastor and district president. I was well-prepared academically and as a church man,” he says.

Using his experiences at Concordia and in the field, he expanded his roles within the LCMS to include participating on numerous boards and committees and assisting with fund raising opportunities. He is currently the LCMS Council of Presidents representative on the Concordia University System Board of Directors. He also served for nine years as an advisory member of the Board of Regents at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

Mirly has been an advocate for Concordia University, Nebraska in various capacities throughout his career. He was honored by Concordia with the Doctor of Laws degree in 2007.

Mirly and his wife, Debbie, live in Buckeye (Phoenix), Arizona.

Young Alumna of the Year: Dr. Michelle Quinlan ’05

Dr. Michelle Quinlan, a leader in the pharmaceutical industry and her church community, completed her Bachelor of Science degree in math and business at Concordia in 2005. She went on to complete a Master of Science in 2007 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 2010, both in statistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

While Quinlan completed her education, she obtained teaching and research assistantships and became a member of the Product Quality Research Institute (PQRI) Stability Shelf Life Working Group, helping to establish new methodology for determining the shelf life of pharmaceutical products. This resulted in several journal publications and presentations at conferences across the U.S. as well as in Belgium.

Quinlan has worked at Novartis Oncology as a biostatistician in clinical pharmacy, and she currently serves as the clinical pharmacology biostats representative on the Oncology Standard Output committee at Novartis. She recently played a key role into the submission of a new cancer drug for approval by the FDA. Her team was awarded the Novartis Oncology Vision Award for their perseverance in overcoming obstacles to help get the drug approved for cancer patients.

Quinlan not only serves through her leadership and teamwork at her job, but she also supports her church as the projectionist, in charge of navigating the slides during its worship service. She also helped with the church preschool dinner by talking with the preschool parents that attended to determine how the church could pray for them and minister to them. She has provided supplies for Vacation Bible School and winter clothes to be distributed to those in need.

“The Christ-centered education, small class sizes and caring professors [at Concordia] provided me both a strong academic foundation as well as a strong intellectual and spiritual foundation that has allowed me to excel as a biostatistician in the pharmaceutical industry while upholding my Christianity,” Quinlan says.

Quinlan lives in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

Mission & Ministry Award: Rev. Brad Birtell ’88

Rev. Brad Birtell demonstrates God’s love and grace in his role as pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Columbus, Nebraska. He loves and cares for God’s people, has a servant heart and exhibits leadership and people skills that reflect his love for the Lord. Birtell humbly praises God for enabling him and his wife, Christine, to inspire students to go to college at Concordia and he prays that the mission of Concordia will continue to grow in God’s amazing grace.

Through the Birtells’ encouragement, dozens of students, including all three of their children, have attended Concordia. Many of the students from St. John and the Columbus area are now serving their Savior as teachers in Lutheran schools, Directors of Christian Education and pastors because of their influence.

“Concordia changed my life!” says Birtell. “It showed me what it means to be a servant-leader in powerful and life-changing ways.”

Birtell served as circuit counselor for the Columbus circuit. He has served on the Rural Ministry Task Force for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. During that time, he helped put together three national convocations for rural and small town congregations.

Using his God-given gift for leading and speaking, Birtell has spoken several times to new pastors who came into the District each year. He was the guest preacher for the Founder’s Day celebration at Concordia in 2014. Birtell served for a year as a guest instructor for the Old Testament classes at Concordia, he has led devotions for athletic teams on many occasions and he has spoken to the Pre-Sem Club.

Birtell takes High School students on servant trips annually. He has coached the St. John’s/Christ Lutheran School (Columbus, Nebraska) boy’s and girl’s basketball teams for many years. His congregation hosts students from Concordia Seminary each fall as a part of their “mission shift” program.

Birtell lives in Madison, Nebraska, with his wife. Their three children also attended and graduated from Concordia: Porter ‘13, Britney ‘14 and Sawyer ‘15.

Church Leadership Award: Dr. Carolyn (Stroebel) Sims ’66

Dr. Carolyn Sims has been a consistent and faithful force in Christian education for decades. Sims served faithfully for more than 30 years at Abiding Savior Lutheran School, first as a teacher and then as principal until her retirement in 2013. She has earned an outstanding reputation as a Lutheran teacher, school administrator and leader within The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Along with her bachelor’s degree from Concordia Nebraska, Sims earned a Master of Arts in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University in Irvine, California, and her doctorate in educational leadership from Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Illinois. She is well respected among her peers for her work as an educator, administrator, member of school accreditation teams and consultant. 

Beyond working in Lutheran schools, Sims was an adjunct professor for several years at Concordia University in Irvine, California, as well as one semester at Concordia Nebraska.

She is a certified educational leadership coach within the LCMS and received the LCMS Pacific Southwest District Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award in 1989. She has served on the executive board of directors for the LEA Early Childhood, Administrator and Retired Education Networks and is on the board of directors for Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine, California.

To spread the love of Jesus throughout the world, Sims has traveled internationally with Lutheran Hour Ministries, and she has written for numerous publications including “Little Lambs,” “My Devotions,” “Happy Times,” “Winning Friends for Christ” and Lutheran Education Journal.

Sims is a member of Abiding Savior Church in Lake Forest, California, where she has served as choir director, youth director, counselor, small group leader, Vacation Bible School leader and circuit officer for the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, among many other volunteer roles.

Sims lives in Mission Viejo, California.

Lifetime Service Award: Judith Duda

Judith Duda, a humble servant who leads by example, gives generously of her time and talent to enhance the quality of life in her church and community. 

Since arriving as a teacher at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Oviedo, Florida, in 1958, she has also served as organist and choir director on the board of directors and as campaign chairman for building projects for the church and school.

Currently she serves as church archivist, documenting the congregation’s 100-year history in a new book and extensive digital collection. She also founded and still serves as volunteer director of the St. Luke’s Concert Series, which has hosted Concordia’s musical ensembles several times over the past two decades.

Duda’s service extends into the larger community: She chairs the Dean’s Executive Council for the College of Arts & Humanities at the University of Central Florida and serves as a trustee of the Florida Historical Society, Lutheran Counseling Services of Central Florida and several charitable foundations. She has been a member of the President’s Council at Concordia University Chicago and served in leadership roles for the Christian Service Center, Lutheran Services Florida, National Summer Music Program and other entities.

Duda served Concordia Nebraska as a Foundation director during the On A Mission campaign and also as a member of Concordia’s Board of Regents.

Duda credits the Lord for her energy and life of service and cherishes the relationship she has maintained with Concordia, saying, “God is good! He has blessed me with amazing relationships and many joyful ways to serve Him. I thank God for having given me the privilege of becoming involved with Concordia Nebraska, of establishing lifelong friends with many of His servants there and of being privileged to offer continuing support of this excellent mission and ministry.”

Widowed in 1999, Duda and her new husband, Col. Howard (Bud) Weber, live in Oviedo, Florida, very near their beloved church.

Honorary Alumni Award: Jerrald Pfabe

Dr. Jerrald Pfabe, who obtained his Ph.D. from St. Louis University, embodies the spirit of a Concordia University, Nebraska alumnus in his work as a faculty member, Concordia’s archivist and a servant in his church and community.

Pfabe taught history when he first started working at Concordia in 1967. He became the department chair of the social sciences and later began teaching Spanish courses, which he still teaches today in his retirement.

Dedicated to embracing and keeping up to date both in content and use of technology, Pfabe has been an outstanding leader for both faculty and students. He takes classes on campus and does the homework to fully learn the material. He is passionate about Concordia and ensures his students and others in the Concordia community uphold high standards.

Pfabe has been both friend and caring mentor to faculty. He genuinely cares about his students and colleagues and is committed to making learning fun and applicable. For example, his Spanish students often look forward to participating in a traditional Mexican meal at his home at the end of the semester.

A former football and basketball coach at Lutheran High Central/North in St. Louis, Missouri, Pfabe is a faithful fan of Bulldog athletics. He is also a former organist and choir director, making him very interested in Concordia’s music program, so he regularly supports music students and faculty by attending concerts and recitals.

Pfabe believes he has grown not only professionally from his experiences at Concordia, but also personally, saying, “As a member of the faculty for many years, I have benefitted and grown from my associations with a gifted and committed faculty and with a wonderful group of students. Concordia has given me the opportunity to grow in understanding the relationship of my teaching areas and Christian faith and responsibility.”

Pfabe is active at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward and in the community, leading Bible studies and serving on committees.

Pfabe and his wife, Esther, live in Seward, Nebraska.

Friends of Concordia Award: Norman and Joyce Riffel

Norman and Joyce Riffel are faithful servants of Jesus Christ, contributors to their community and loyal supporters of Concordia University, Nebraska.

The couple are members of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in La Vista, Nebraska, and Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Sun Lakes, Arizona, where both Norm and Joyce humbly serve as Christians who demonstrate their desire to help others through their actions.

Norm served two years as a member and the chairman of both the Board of Social Ministry and the Board of Elders. He is committed to taking care of others and using his talents, treasures and business acumen to support institutions that nurture Christian education and values.

As the former owner and president of Metro Moving Services, Inc., an agent for Atlas Van Lines in Omaha, Nebraska, Norm has demonstrated high character, superior ethics and excellent leadership qualities and practices in his business and personal relationships. 

Norm also served in the Navy from 1956 to 1959. He provided outstanding leadership as state chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party from 1987 through 1991. From 1989 through 1991, Norm also served as secretary, vice-chairman and chairman of the Nebraska Trucking Association.

Joyce was a summer school and Sunday school teacher who served in various ways for church and within her community. She was on the Building Committee Board of Beautiful Savior Lutheran School and president of the Salina Jaycee Jaynes. Joyce and Norm were also among 30 elected Nebraska delegates as representatives to the National Republican Conventions in 1988, 1992 and 1996. 

Norm and Joyce are snowbirds and reside on a lake near Springfield, Nebraska, and a golf course in Sun Lakes, Arizona. They are the proud parents of their son, Todd, of Springfield, Nebraska, and their daughter, Jennifer, of Chandler, Arizona. They are extremely dedicated in providing support for Todd’s three daughters to attend a Christian school in Omaha and Jennifer’s son’s Christian school education in Chandler, Arizona. They demonstrate their Christian love for their children and grandchildren through gifts provided by God each and every day of their lives.