Mavone Eidet will forever hold Luther Seminary students close to her heart. As a final request, Eidet, a notable donor to Luther Seminary for more than 20 years, was buried this past May holding a list of the 79 students whose theological education she helped fund.
“Giving was her lifelong passion,” said Eidet’s son, Jim. “She believed strongly in being able to make a difference in the ministry context, and it brought her such joy to know she was able to do just that.”
Eidet’s generosity to Luther Seminary began in the 1980s when a Luther Seminary student interned at her church in Waubay, S.D. After learning the intern could not complete his studies because of finances, Eidet chose to fund his remaining year at Luther Seminary. She and her late husband, Henry, continued to fund students for 20 years after that. “I guess she was the power of one in her own way,” said Eidet’s daughter, Lily Mogen.
Dale Degner, an M.Div. senior at Luther Seminary, is one of the 79 who received Eidet’s remarkable gifts. “Of course she had an impact on my seminary training by helping me monetarily … but more than that, she helped me realize that God (can be known) in a very real way through a person,” said Degner. “There is always support, and that in itself is a lesson (I will) carry with me for the rest of my life.”