Celebrating Legacy: The Johnsons

Legacy Family—The Johnsons

Every legacy family at Concordia St. Paul starts at the same place, with that first student of the family attending the University. Sometimes, a legacy consists of two or three members of a given family. In other cases, a legacy family stretches to several members across multiple generations, and due to marriages, intersects with a number of other Concordia legacies. The legacy that started when Darlene (Osladil) Johnson, AA ‘55 began as a student at Concordia in the early 1950s falls into the latter category.

However, this legacy isn’t just about the number of Concordia graduates; it’s a legacy of Christian faith passed down to Darlene, and from her to her children and grandchildren. “She was a matriarch in every sense of the word...the reason it became such a strong legacy was grandma,” recalled grandson Luke Johnson, BA ‘06. “She was Concordia, through and through,” echoed granddaughter Karina Schlecht, BA ‘16.

COMING TO CONCORDIA

As part of one of the first classes of female students admitted to Concordia, Darlene had designs on being a Lutheran school teacher. She “loved her Lutheran faith,” according to her daughter, Kathy (Johnson) Schlecht, BA ‘84.

The faith that held such a prominent place in Darlene’s life continued and multiplied in the generations that followed. So too did the deep connection between the Johnson family and Concordia St. Paul. When it came time for Darlene and her husband Ernest’s children to continue their education, all four eventually attended and graduated from Concordia, as well as a number of their grandchildren.

Rev. Jeff Johnson, BA ‘88 Their oldest son, Jeff, took a circuitous route to Concordia. After serving in the Navy and working in Colorado, he moved back to Minnesota with his wife Terri (Sievers) Johnson, ‘88 and their two children (one of which was son Luke) to enroll in the pre-seminary program at CSP. His sister Kim loved having Jeff at CSP at the same time she was there. “He was on his second career path at CSP while I was starting my years there, so we actually went to school together even though he is 10 years older,” she shared.

Dr. Phillip Johnson, BA ‘82 The second oldest child, Phillip, originally wanted to go to seminary, but later chose to pursue ministry in the Director of Christian Outreach (DCO) program. He recalled his mother being “genuinely surprised” about him wanting to attend CSP. At Concordia, he met his wife Sandy (Schlobohm) Johnson, BA ‘80 (member of another legacy family), who chose CSP to pursue Lutheran teacher education closer to home than Concordia Nebraska.

Sarah (Johnson) Mueller, BA ‘04, daughter of Philip and Sandy, chose to attend Concordia because she wanted to attend school farther from her home in Colorado, the urban location and close

Darlene (Osladil) Johnson, JC ‘55 married Ernest Johnson

Kathy (Johnson) Schlecht, BA ‘84 married Rev. Dr. Glen Schlecht, BA ‘85 Dr. Phillip Johnson, BA ‘82 married Sandy (Schlobohm) Johnson, BA ‘80

Karina Schlecht, BA ‘16

Rev. Jeffrey Johnson, BA ‘88 married Terri (Sievers) Johnson, ‘88 Sarah (Johnson) Mueller, BA ‘02 married Daniel Mueller, BA ‘03

Andrew Johnson, BA ‘05 married Jennifer (Mills) Johnson, BA ‘04

Rev. Ben Johnson, BA ‘08

Luke Johnson, BA ‘06

*If you’re a part of the Johnson family legacy and not listed here, let us know and we’ll add you! If you’re a member of a different legacy family, visit ave.csp.edu/legacyform to give us your legacy information. Kimberly (Johnson) Pieper, BA ‘90

Natalie Pieper, BA ‘15

Noah Pieper, ‘21

Extended Family:

Rev. Brian Osladil, BA ‘84 (nephew of Darlene) married Julie (Pechous) Osladil, BA ‘88

Ronell (Osladil) Uran, BA ‘86 (niece of Darlene) married Michael Uran, BA ‘83

Darlene (pictured center) celebrated her reception of the Alumni Distinguished Service Award with her family in 2007.

Photo courtesy of Kim Pieper.

proximity to her grandparents. While at Concordia, she met her husband, Dan Mueller, BA ‘03, who is also part of his own extensive family legacy. While she was still a student, her father received a call to join the faculty at Concordia St. Paul as director of the DCO program. As he was deliberating the call, Sarah asked him, “You’re not gonna be one of those dorky profs, are you dad?”

God led Phillip to accept that call, and he remained on the faculty until 2013. Meanwhile, like his daughter Sarah, son Andy Johnson, BA ‘05 was also a student when Phillip joined the faculty, wanting to be far from home yet near family. He recalled enjoying his visits to campus when Sarah was a student and staying with Dan and his roommate, Seth. Andy also met his wife Jennifer (Mills) Johnson, BA ‘04 at Concordia, another member of a legacy family. Phillip’s son Rev. Ben Johnson, BA ‘08, also attended CSP.

Kathy (Johnson) Schlecht, BA ‘84 Passionate about music, oldest daughter Kathy’s goal was to attend Bemidji State, and planned on transferring there midway through her time in college. However, she desired a Christian education. She ended up staying at Concordia, and joined the fledgling Director of Parish Music program, meeting her husband, Rev. Dr. Glen Schlecht, BA ‘85.

For Karina, Kathy and Glen’s daughter, there was a pull to attend where her parents did, and she had a desire to grow in her faith and teach in a Lutheran school. “The faith formation [in Lutheran schools] is priceless,” she shared.

Kimberly (Johnson) Pieper, BA ‘90 The youngest sibling, Kimberly, recalled visiting her sister Kathy on Concordia’s campus while she was in seventh grade, and loved it, choosing to study education. “Concordia was always a common connection in our family,” she reflected.

The familiarity with CSP held true for Natalie Pieper, BA ‘15. “So many of my cousins attended, and I felt comfortable with Concordia,” remarked. “I could be in choir and theatre and intramurals like they were.” Her brother, Noah Pieper ‘21, who began his college career at Concordia-Chicago, shared why CSP is meaningful to him. “Where else can I have professors that know me and talk about my faith? It’s very special,” he said.

A LASTING IMPACT

Later in life, Darlene’s connection to Concordia wasn’t limited to her grandchildren who attended. As a member of Concordia’s Board of Regents for three terms, she had a role in many crucial decisions that strengthened the university.

“Mom felt that being on the board was an honor, because she saw the value of what Concordia offered,” Phillip recalled. “It was a calling for her.”

As part of the legacy of faith in the Johnson family, CSP helped it grow and be nurtured in the lives of the family members. In fact, Karina credited Concordia for helping keep her in the faith. “If I went to a public university, I don’t know if I would be involved in the church like I am,” she explained.

“Going to CSP, I got to choose to go to chapel every day,” Natalie remarked. “My best friends were the ones who I met because we chose to do that together.”

For others, classroom experiences served to provide that growth. “Robert Kolb and Tom Trapp opened my eyes, ears and heart to new ways of looking at scripture and helped to strengthen my faith more than they could ever know,” added Kim. “My faith in Christ was like a tiny little seed when I arrived and it grew into a huge tree by the time I left the campus.”

“I think every one of us could talk about how our faith grew during that time,” Kim intimated. “It’s been brought to our kids, and prayerfully to their kids; it’s such a unique gift that I’m grateful for.”

Graduating During a Pandemic

Mara Grau is a 2020 graduate of Concordia University, St. Paul, and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in creative writing. She served as editor of The Sword, CSP’s student newspaper as well as completed an internship with CSP’s marketing and communications office. Mara reflected on the last weeks of her senior year affected by COVID-19.

By Mara Grau, BA '20

During the week after spring break, I couldn’t stop checking the news. Italy shut down, students studying abroad got sent home, people were stocking up on essential supplies, and some US universities were transitioning to online instruction. I was annoying my coworker with speculations about what would happen when the virus started to spread through the US. On the morning of Thursday, March 12, I was sitting in class chatting with my peers before our exam; some of us thought we would continue meeting in person for a while, and others thought we would move online very soon. Six hours later, we got an email explaining that CSP would be moving to online instruction.

At first, I felt a little indifferent about having my classes move to an online format. On a positive note, I wouldn’t have to worry about commuting to school each day. However, I never wanted to take online classes. I don’t learn well with technology; I do much better when I am in the same room with my peers and professors. I knew this about myself before this pandemic came around, which is why I avoided signing up for them. I know that many other students feel the same way, so this transition has been hard on us all.

I was lucky because, as a commuter student, I didn’t suddenly have to move out of my dorm and make arrangements to travel home. I did, however, lose my on-campus job as a tutor for the writing center. I know it was only a part-time job making minimum wage, but I relied on that income to help me buy groceries and pay bills. When this happened, it started becoming clear that I wasn’t going to get the kind of job I had been looking forward to. You see, I am an English major with a creative writing emphasis and a minor in writing/communications. I knew that I would have to work a little harder at my job search than people with more sought-after degrees, but this pandemic has made my search ten times harder. Companies aren’t really looking to expand their teams right now, which is understandable but still disheartening. Nobody goes to college and expects to have fewer job opportunities after getting their degree, and they certainly don’t expect to be applying for unemployment.

This past month and a half has been incredibly difficult for me and all other students across the country, especially those who have graduated. We are all facing so much uncertainty, and no one really knows how to help because nobody has experienced this kind of situation before.

Companies want to hire people with experience, the main barrier making it difficult for new graduates to get started in their respective fields. Some have realized the benefits of hiring new graduates as, more often than not, they are dedicated and eager to work.

I hope that, as a result of this turmoil, companies will realize that it’s time for some traditional business practices to change: hire new graduates, allow employees to work remotely, hold virtual meetings, and treat employees with more compassion. Yes, everything is pretty bad right now, but if people make an effort to learn from this situation, I think that all parts of society will improve as a result.