Rev. Laurel (Bud) Lindberg of Edina, who after a childhood accident had his own share of hardship, was a caring pastor who helped minister to those in need at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.
Lindberg, 85, died unexpectedly Nov. 8 in Edina.
"Bud was a parishioner's pastor. He cared for people. He was so radiant in spirit and he was energetic," said Rev. Paul Youngdahl, Mount Olivet's senior pastor. "He was a man of many hugs." said Youngdahl.
When Lindberg was 7, he had climbed a tree on his family's farm in Dresser, Wis., to collect a bird's nest for his little brother. He grabbed a power line, losing three fingers on his left hand, and damaging his right hand.
Eight years ago, a nurse asked him for help with a patient, a boy with injuries similar to Lindberg's.
"The boy asked, 'Can you play football?'" said Lindberg's wife, Nancy. Then the child asked, "Can you make a basket?" Lindberg hadn't played much basketball, but he headed to the gym with the boy, "praying all the way that he would make a basket." He sank the shot, and the boy was ecstatic.
At Gustavus Adolphus College, he served as a student preacher, hitchhiking to area churches. He also played guard and tackle on the Gusties' football team.
After graduation in 1947, he worked as a student preacher at Mount Olivet and attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul. He completed seminary in Illinois, and was ordained in 1951. He served parishes in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; Fargo, N.D.; and Spokane, Wash. Youngdahl sought him out in 1976.
In addition to his wife of 56 years, he is survived by three daughters, Mary Geyerman of Minneapolis, Kirsten Lindberg of Minneapolis and Maren Wright of Bloomington, and two grandsons.
Services will be at noon today in Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, 5025 Knox Av. S.
