Neal Norbert Luebke

Neal Luebke was born to Gertrude and Helmuth Luebke on December 17, 1926 in Parkston, South Dakota. He attended Dakota Wesleyan University where he met Jean Pearson and they married. They moved to Denver where he received his M.A. in Theatre from Denver University. He began a teaching career which was interrupted by the Korean War and was sent to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Fortunately, because he could type, Neal spent the war in Texas typing reports. His son, Dana, was born just before they moved back to Pierre, South Dakota, where he resumed teaching and his daughter, Erin, was born. In 1957 Neal received a John Hays Fellowship, and the family spent a year in New York City where he studied humanities at Columbia University. They moved to Minneapolis in 1960 where for the next 30 years he taught humanities in the Robbinsdale School District. He shared his passion for the arts in the year long course he created surveying Western arts and literature, which required students to read over 40 books and to attend performances and visit art exhibitions. He also directed plays and musicals at Robbinsdale High School for which he often designed the costumes, which Jean made. Devoted to his students and cast members, he took joy in seeing many of them go on to professional careers in theatre. Neal was very active in the Robbinsdale United Church of Christ, chairing many committees. He brought his love of theatre into the church, founding IN CELEBRATION, a reader's theatre group that performed dramatic material for worship services for 25 years. Jean died in 1991, and in 1992, he married Carol Joyce, who came to Minneapolis to be pastor at the Robbinsdale UCC, and who shared his love of art. Carol died on November 30, 2022. Whether teaching, directing, writing or entertaining, Neal delighted in all the details on which lavished meticulous attention. He wrote many poems, often to celebrate special occasions. He died on February 24, 2023, yet his memory lives on in the hearts of his children Dana Luebke (Robert Greenwood) and Erin Thompson (Byron Richard); his stepsons Scott Brun (Tere) and Todd Brun (Cara King); his grandchildren Wyatt, Simone, Stephanie, Chandler, Ryan and Isabel; great-granddaughter Lucy; and his many friends and students.

Tributes

Neal Norbert Luebke

December 17, 1926 - February 24, 2023

Tributes

Neal Norbert Luebke

December 17, 1926 - February 24, 2023

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