Life Story: John Hogenson
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota minister never let his struggle with dyslexia hold him back.
John Hogenson led three of the largest Lutheran churches in the state and had a remarkable ability to share his joy. Most recently, Hogenson was the senior pastor at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis.
We discovered in this week's Life Story, even though his time there was short, it was extremely valuable. Pastor John Hogenson arrived at Mount Olivet in 2014 after the church's senior pastor of nearly 40 years died suddenly.
Hogenson immediately went to work on helping members grieve, and creating new ways for them to connect with one another.
"He was here just 8 months when he was diagnosed with this stage 4 brain tumor. Inoperable," said interim senior pastor Dennis Johnson.
The new year brought new grief to Mount Olivet.
On Jan. 4, the congregation lost its senior pastor a second time within just a few years.
"Just as this congregation was beginning to heal and come together, this happened again," he said.
Pastor Johnson says Hogenson made his two-year health battle a teaching tool.
"He was continuing to minister to us through his CaringBridge posts, in which he was encouraging us. He was helping us," he said.
And just weeks before Hogenson died, he posted a video about living life to the fullest.
"I love life, but I know we are all terminal," Hogenson says in the video.
"I think we could easily say about John is what I've heard others say about great people. He taught us how to live, taught us how to die," Johnson said.
Hogenson's wife, Ruth, says he made the decision to donate his brain to the Mayo Clinic. Doctors told him his type of tumor was so rare that little research existed.
The pastor believed if more was known, another family might be spared from the same suffering.
"Even in his dying he wanted something good to happen. Amazing," said Johnson.
Church members fondly remember the tall man with long arms who loved to greet them upon arrival, and often ended his sermons with these words: "Remember look upward, travel onward, do not be afraid."
Because of his dyslexia, Pastor Hogenson would memorize his sermons and do a lot of storytelling. He wasn't able to refer to his notes. John Hogenson was 58 years old.
His memorial service is this Saturday at 11 a.m. at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church.
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