Generations of Service
Story: Amy Crawford
Photos: Courtesy of the Boll Family
A Concordia High School romance in the 1950s blossomed into a multigenerational family legacy of faith, service and Lutheran education.
It all began when a farm boy from North Dakota and a farm girl from Iowa met at Concordia High School in Seward, Nebraska, in 1954.
The oldest of five children, John came to Concordia High School with the goal to return to the North Dakota family farm after his studies were done. Three girls from his small, home congregation were already attending the high school. Although John came to the high school with the goal of pursuing general studies, his mother had been praying fervently for years that God would call her son to serve as a pastor. He ended up becoming a Lutheran educator instead.
“My sainted mother was like Old Testament Hannah praying for her son,” said John. “God used the unique daily instruction in His Word, close friendship in sports and relationships [to cause me to] return the next year to prepare for a teacher career instead of being a farmer. And God used a new girl - that sophomore named Caroline - to ‘catch me’ on a Sadie Hawkins Day that fall. That began a life-long blessing…after graduating, we began our married of more than 63 years.”
John and Caroline (Timmerman) Boll graduated from Concordia High School in 1958 and continued their education at then-named Concordia Teacher’s College.
Caroline attended summer sessions and graduated from Concordia Teacher’s College in 1961 following a six-week European tour with the University A Cappella Choir. John paid a $100 deposit (the entire trip was only $700!) to join Caroline on the international adventure, but his travel plans were foiled by a college class needed for his secondary education-focused studies.
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“It was only offered that same summer,” he sighed. “I cancelled going on the tour, took the class plus a geography class in the morning and worked at a farm throwing hay bales on a farm wagon for one dollar an hour from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. then rushed back to get supper at our dining hall.”
While Caroline was abroad, John ordered rings from the college’s bookstore, carefully selecting them from a printed jewelry catalog.
“Caroline said ‘yes’ the night she returned from the tour!” he said. “Then she took my car and headed to St. Louis area to begin teaching for a year before our wedding on July 22, 1962. I finished my football career, made honor roll for one and only time, spent many quarters on the Weller Hall pay phone making calls to my beautiful fiancé, got a teaching degree and we got our calls to Michigan.”
John’s college professor and football coach Walter Hellwege also had a profound impact on John during his time in Seward, he said.
“His impact on Concordia football history combined with his challenge to achieve 100 percent on one of his tests - which I never did - led me to major in geography,” he said. “Decades later when we visited Seward, I learned he had terminal cancer, and we visited him. His first words when we walked in were ‘John Boll, number 66, right guard.' It totally shocked me to tears, even as I recall this memory!”
The Bolls served together at churches in Michigan, Illinois, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Minnesota before retirement.
“My prayer was always ‘when and if you want me to serve elsewhere in your kingdom . . . okay.’ Each call was a challenging opportunity in the 43 years before retirement,” said John.
All of the Bolls’ children graduated from the university and have education degrees and Lutheran Teacher Diplomas. Son David ‘87 and his wife Dolores (Dee Nyquest) Boll ‘87 have served in Lutheran schools in New York and Minnesota. Daughter Myrna (Boll) Lastusky ‘93 taught at Sheboygan Lutheran High School where she met and married fire chief Jay Lastusky. Son Jonathan ‘03 and wife Jennifer (Arend) Boll ‘03 serve in Billings, Montana. Son Andrew ‘04 and wife Melinda (Mueller) Boll ‘04 graduated in 2004 and served in Minnesota and Montana. In addition, three of David and Dolores’ four sons are all also alumni of the university. Michael ‘16 and Amy (Buchholz) Boll ’16 serve in Minnesota. Matthew ‘22 teaches in a Lutheran school in Minnesota. Benjamin ‘22 and serves as a first lieutenant as a tank commanding officer. Jonathan teaches social studies at Nova Classical Academy in the Twin Cities.
John and Caroline’s third child, nine-year-old Heidi, passed away in 1975 after her heart stopped in an emergency room in Billings, Montana.
“Caroline taught for 26 years while raising our children,” said John. “I thought our family was complete with three but with the sudden Homegoing of Heidi we saw several major shifts.” John and Caroline started a daily Bible reading program around that time, seeking to read from Genesis to Revelation in one year.
“Caroline and I prayed for another daughter,” said John.
"God smiled and gave us two sons," said Caroline.
Son David said Concordia Nebraska is a special place that has had a profound impact on his family. He said he is grateful for the university’s consistent focus on preparing students to serve in the church and the world.
“The key word is servants,” he said. “We need to continue the Concordia Nebraska-taught approach that it is not about us, but about others: that we are here by the grace of God to serve, wherever we are, in whatever discipline we work. The country and world desperately need truth to be told and lived, and places like Concordia Nebraska…need support to raise up those that can assist people in going out into the world to spread the Good News.”
Daughter Myrna said the Bolls made Lutheran education a priority for all their children.
“We all feel very blessed to be part of a family for whom Christ is at the center. It is a rare gift to have an entire extended family who loves Jesus, and we never take it for granted,” said Myrna. “Our folks - like theirs before them - are leaving a legacy of faith, and Concordia has been a major part of that through the years.”
John said that in addition to their ongoing prayers for the university and its faculty, staff, students and alumni, they have chosen to financially support the university as well.
“This is a token of the love for our alma mater,” he explained. “We seek to make a dent in the need, for the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.”
“I know that both my parents have seen God at work in their lives and shaping their ministerial destinies through the work of Concordia Nebraska. They have both had an incredibly far-reaching impact through their teaching as well as their witness as part of the doctrinally trained Lutheran laity,” added son Andrew. “It is amazing how their experience at Concordia has indirectly touched so many lives and families, and I know they have always acknowledged God's gracious hand in all that they have done and experienced, but particularly regarding their formative time at Concordia Nebraska. They will certainly leave more than a single legacy with all the hearts and lives they have touched, but what they are returning to the Lord in the form of a gift to Concordia is definitely one heritage that they will treasure now and which will have an impact into eternity!”
The Bolls’ children agree that John and Caroline are an inspiration to all of them and that their love for Concordia for Lutheran education has had a broad and deep impact.
“None of us would have ended up at Concordia if it were not for their encouragement, support and modeling. We have all been in full-time ministry because of their influence and they continue to help us follow Jesus daily,” said son Jonathan. “Concordia Nebraska has been such an incredible shared part of our family. The seeds of faith that existed in all our lives were watered and sprouted while at Concordia Nebraska, and we pray that we continue to bear fruit for His glory. There are many places where you can invest your time, finances and energy. When you invest in Concordia, you know you are investing in the future of the church.”