Charles Ekanger

Charles Ekanger was born at his farm home on April 4, 1931 in Hudson, SD. He was the second of four children born to Emma and Andrew Ekanger. Among the privileges of growing up as a farm boy were the feelings of belonging and being needed. Charles was baptized May 31, 1931 and confirmed June 2, 1946 at Romsdal Lutheran Church. He went by Chuck most of his life; however, his mother always called him Charles.

Chuck graduated from Augustana Academy Lutheran high school in Canton, SD, in 1949. That summer, in a church baseball game, a batter threw his bat which was a blow to Chuck's head causing a majority of lost teeth. He often wondered if that severe blow caused memory loss. Upon healing he enrolled for one year at the Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis.Following that year he attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, graduating with a BA degree in 1954. At Augustana he was President of The Lutheran Student Association. The next 2 years he attended Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Having doubts about becoming a Parish Pastor, he left the Seminary. Pastor Nervig told him: "You don't need to be a minister to have a ministry." It was then he took a Civil Service Exam and was counseled to go into Social Work.

Chuck married Joyce Olson (whom he met at Augustana College) on August 28, 1955 at Our Savior's Lutheran in Minneapolis before moving to Rochester, MN, where he took a position with the Olmsted County Welfare Dept. as a social worker for three years.

Upon receiving a Scholarship in 1959, he entered the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, where he graduated in 1961 with his MSW degree. He began employment at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where, as a Psychiatric Social Worker, he spent 35 years in the Children's Day Psychiatric Hospital. Called "The Day Care Center," it was a clinically-innovative, publicly-funded, research-oriented child day treatment program. The children spent 2 years there and then re-entered the public school system. The Center built a program which involved a close working relationship between parents, student residents, and staff in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, teaching, and social work. He retired in 1996.

Upon cutting his employment at the UCHSC to half-time in the later years, he began work for Lutheran Family Service with an office at Bethany Lutheran. He lost several paintings in his Bethany office because of the fire in 1980. He began leading 10-week divorce recovery seminars in 1981. There have been hundred of people who have had their lives put back together through these seminars, which he facilitated for over 23 years. This was an opportunity to assist people in turning their crisis and pain into a process of healing and personal growth. In addition he led several seminars for children of divorced parents.

Charles and Joyce ere members of Our Savior's Lutheran for almost 40 years before joining Bethany Lutheran in March of 1991. He served on the Bethany Health Ministry Task Force, and has been grateful to Bethany for being able to conduct opening nights of the rebuilding seminars.

Chuck has helped Joyce in work both with "Patchers" and sometimes helping her with "Memorial Committee" duties.

Chuck will be remembered as a "Bridge-Builder." He has taken a sympathetic and understanding approach to people's problems and has tried to gain the confidence of his clients even when his point of view differed from theirs. He has been more concerned about who is going to remedy a problem rather than place blame.

In November of 2018 Chuck moved to High Pointe Assisted Living and Memory Care. He was transferred to the Villa Manor Care Center in July of 2020 primarily due to a variety of vascular issues. He passed away on September 19, 2020.

Family members left to mourn his passing include his wife, Joyce, sons Daniel and David, daughter Linda Stephens and her husband Brad, grandchildren Luke and Lauren, brother Ernest Ekanger, plus many nephews and nieces. He will be missed but memories of his life will live on.

Memorials can be made to Bethany Lutheran, Augustana University, or Samaritan's Purse.