Dr. Joan N. (Nagelstad) Buckley

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Buckley, Dr. Joan N. Helene Joan Naglestad was born in Minneapolis to the Reverend Carl and Helene Naglestad. She grew up in Ellsworth, Iowa, where her father was pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church. In 1952 she graduated from St. Olaf College with bachelor degrees in English and music. Chosen by her classmates to teach at the Martin Luther Schule in postwar Rimbach, Germany, she returned to earn her M.A. in English from the University of Chicago in 1956 and then joined the English faculty at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. She obtained her Ph.D. in English at the University of Iowa. During her 49 year tenure at Concordia, she received several grants through the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Norwegian government, multiple awards and was the first recipient of the Lily B. Gyldenvand professorship of communications. Joan's specialty was American literature, but she taught classes ranging from Henrik Ibsen to Toni Morrison to business writing for management. She blazed trails for women in academics by teaching full time while raising a family. Her expectations for her students were high, and she enjoyed guiding them to excellence. One of her greatest joys was re-connecting with former students all over the country. Norwegian heritage sparked Joan's study of the Norwegian-American immigrant woman's experience and Scandinavian humor. She lectured in Norway and in the US and edited two collections of Han Ola og Han Per by Peter J. Rosendahl, an immigrant era comic strip. During her last years she published a short book describing her family's emigration experience from Norway in the 1800's. Joan served on the boards for the Vesterheim Museum, the Norwegian American Historical Association, and Tau state (MN) Delta Kappa Gamma, and was active in several Scandinavian groups and Mu Phi Epsilon. Joan's husband of 54 years, Dr. Wendell Buckley, professor of music at Concordia, preceded her in death in 2011. After her retirement in 2005 Joan spent winters in California, enjoying concerts and cheering at her grandsons' soccer games. She died peacefully on March 12 in Mountain View, CA with family. Joan was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She is survived by her son David (Beth) of San Diego, California, and her daughter Julie (Eric Fung) of Los Altos, California. Her grandchildren are Aaron and Christine Buckley, and Jeffrey and Justin Fung. A service will be held March 23, 2019, at Grace Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, CA. Visitation will be Saturday, April 6, 2019, from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M., at Wright Funeral Home in Moorhead, MN. A memorial service will be held Sunday, April 7, 2019, at 1:00 P.M., at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead. Memorials may be directed to the churches or Concordia College.

Published on March 24, 2019