Established on 12.15.2018 by Betty Lou Kuklish †
Betty Lou (Knudsen) Kuklish, found great joy in making and teaching music her entire life. She grew up in White Rock, South Dakota, and attended Concordia for two years, playing clarinet in the Concordia Band. In 1950, she married Lowell Kuklish, and they made their home on the family farm in New Effington, South Dakota. Betty finished her degrees in elementary education and music at Northern State University. Betty filled their home and lives with music by teaching piano lessons and sharing her love of music with children for 36 years. One of their three daughters, Katherine (Kuklish) Branick '73, followed in her mother's footsteps, playing in the Concordia Concert Band. Betty created the Soli Deo Gloria Music Excellence Endowed Fund to support music at Concordia College and to inspire, for future generations, music's ability to connect hearts together in harmony for future generations.
The purpose of the Soli Deo Gloria Music Excellence Endowed Fund is to support music at Concordia College. The fund is to be completely unrestricted and used to support the "area of greatest need," as determined by the Music Department Chair, Dean of academic Affairs or other duly constituted office in the Music Department.
† - Testamentary endowments may not be contributed to until they are fully established.