Martin Mohr

Wednesday, October 9, 2019 1:26 pm

Martin Mohr, 91, of Decorah, died Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, at Wellington Place in Decorah, surrounded by family and friends. Memorial services are at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at First Lutheran Church in Decorah, with Rev. Chad Huebner and Rev. Melissa Bills officiating. Inurnment is in Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah. Visitation begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, one hour before the service, at First Lutheran Church.

Martin Alfred Mohr was born at home on the family farm near Clinton June 20, 1928, the son of Alfred Herman and Clara Elisa (Martin) Mohr. He graduated from Lyons High School in Clinton, then attended the University of Iowa, where he received his B.A. in 1950. Martin served in the U.S. Air Force for four years during the Korean War, then returned to school, receiving his M.A. in English from the University of Iowa in 1955.

After graduate school, Martin began a teaching career at Luther College that would span four decades. He was granted a leave of absence in 1958 to pursue his Ph.D. in English Literature, which he received from the University of Iowa in 1964, after writing his dissertation on “The Social and Political Thought of William Butler Yeats.” Dr. Mohr returned to Luther where he met Mary Lou Hull, who was also a member of the college’s English department. They were married June 5, 1965 and their union was blessed with one son, Jonathan.

While always a professor of English, Martin also served in a number of other roles during his time at Luther and took pride in helping shape and reshape the content and concept of liberal arts at the college throughout his career. He was chair of the English department on two occasions and spent time as co-chair and writing director of Luther’s Paideia Program, helping fund and maintain the program as co-author of several significant National Endowment for the Humanities grants received by the college. Martin became an early advocate of using computers to teach writing, attending workshops and conferences, and working with computer writing specialists at Colorado State University and the University of Minnesota. He initiated action to acquire Daedalus software for the teaching of collaborative writing at Luther.

Martin was part of a team that evaluated several European schools and programs, including Institute of European Studies programs at University of Durham, England, and the London School of Economics. He also evaluated Luther’s Nottingham Program in 1980, during one of three sabbatical leaves he took with his family in London for research at the British Museum and Library. In addition, he had January term leaves at the Library of Congress and at the Newberry Library, and was a seminar participant at the Yeats Summer School in Sligo, Ireland. He was the author of several scholarly works on literature and language appearing in publications such as Word and World and Dialog, and presented a number of papers at Iowa Council of the Teachers of English meetings, as well as lectures at Luther as part of an American Association of University Professors series and a seminal texts series. He served as president of the Ruth Suckow Memorial Association and was proud of this Iowa poet.

He served on a number of Luther’s committees, including Faculty Council, Long-Range Planning, the Computer Committee and several search committees. He also served as faculty marshal. He was a member of the Modern Language Association, National Council of the Teachers of English, and American Association of University Professors. In 2000, he was honored by election to Luther College’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

But Martin felt most at home in the classroom, where his writing courses and lively discussions on 18th-century British literature, Romantic literature and modern British literature, in particular poetry, made him a student favorite. He also wrote poetry, and many students recall with enthusiasm his talent for reading poems aloud. Reflecting on his career after retirement, Martin wrote, “With a small group of students, when I can hit exactly the right tone, I feel really fulfilled.”

Upon his retirement in 1993, Martin remained very active at the college, teaching part-time, and later serving as instructor and frequently as student in Luther’s Lifelong Learners Seminars. He remained a fixture at the weekly concerts and lectures held throughout the year and said he felt a strong sense of duty to help “make Luther work as a community” by participating as often as he could in campus events. He also remained active at First Lutheran Church, where he was a member for decades and happily expressed his lifetime love of music as a tenor in the choir.

He loved spending time with his friends in Decorah, whether for special occasions, frequent dinners, or daily coffee. His Tuesday morning men’s coffee group was a highpoint of his week. His love of travel also continued with trips around Iowa, Minnesota and the rest of the country, as well as Europe, to visit family and friends, and yearly visits to Jackson Hole, Wyo., which he loved not only for the spectacular mountain scenery but also for the summer symphony orchestra. A major accomplishment in recent years was his research on his ancestors and publication of a family history that his relatives will continue to enjoy for a long time to come.

He is survived by his wife Mary Lou, his sister Dorothea (Clinton), his brothers Herald (Alexandria, Va.) and Ernie (Moline, Ill.), and his son Jonathan and Tia Martinson (Eden Prairie, Minn.).

Martin was preceded in death by his parents Alfred and Clara, and his brother Carl.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Martin Mohr and Mary Hull Mohr Scholarship at Luther College, c/o Development Office, 700 College Drive, Decorah, IA 52101, or to First Lutheran Church, 604 W. Broadway St., Decorah, IA 52101.