Established on 03.17.2020 by Solveig M. Swendseid, Claudia S. Swendseid, Greta S. Soleim, Rachel S. Overton, and Kristin S. Gomez
Solveig (Stenerson) Swendseid grew up near Van Hook, North Dakota. She studied music and business at Concordia College, graduating in 1950. While at Concordia, she met Douglas Swendseid ’49 from Lambert, Montana, and the couple married in 1950. Concordia connections run deep for the Swendseid family. Solveig’s brother attended Concordia, and three of the four Swendseid daughters attended as well – Rachel ’74, Claudia ’78, and Greta ’79. Their daughter, Kristin, attended Augsburg College.
Following Doug’s graduation from seminary, Solveig and Doug were called into service as missionaries, serving fifteen years in Japan. Subsequently, the couple served a mission church near San Francisco and Global Missions at the American Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Solveig also worked at Augsburg College, the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, and taught piano lessons for 50 years. Solveig Swendseid received the Concordia College Alumni Achievement Award in 1992 for an oral history project on women in global missions. Solveig and Doug retired to Edina, MN, where Doug passed away in 2008.
Solveig has continued a lifelong commitment to service as a volunteer and donor with Southern Valley Women’s Alliance (an organization which provides crisis support, advocacy, and education to victim-survivors of domestic violence in Scott and Carver Counties), Badlands Ministries (a year-round Christian camp and retreat facility centered in worship), and Solid Ground (an organization dedicated to providing affordable housing and innovative supportive programming designed to help families break the cycle of homelessness and poverty for the next generation.) Solveig has also been a lifetime member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and a friend to Concordia College and its students.
Today, Solveig shares her life with Frank Porter, her children, grandchildren, other family members, and close friends. She enjoys Western art and is an avid reader with a special interest in war histories. Solveig is a passionate lifelong follower of Jesus, a learner, an advocate, a philanthropist, and a friend to everyone she meets.
The Swendseid Service Scholars Endowed Fund supports the Swendseid Service Scholars Program at Concordia College, a program for students participating in experiential learning opportunities in the non-profit sector, with particular preference given to those organizations serving women and children.