BLAIR COUPLE GIVEN HANSON SERVANT
AWARD AT DANA
Lloyd and Muriel Neve honored
for giving generously
Dana College
presented Lloyd and Muriel Neve with the Clifford T. and D. Florence
Hanson Servant Award during the annual Dana College Builders Luncheon, Friday,
May 20.
The Hanson Servant Award recognizes individuals who
model selfless devotion and gives recognition to ordinary people
who do extraordinary things inspired
by
faith, love and service.
“Lloyd and Muriel Neve put their Christian faith into action — day
in and day out,” said Dr. Myrvin Christopherson, president. “They
exemplify love of neighbor in a way that few do.”
Lloyd and Muriel Neve
have spread their faith and mission across the globe for more than 60 years.
The son of a South Dakota pastor, Lloyd came to Dana in 1941,
eventually becoming student body president. He attended Trinity Seminary and
Augustana Seminary in Rock Island, Ill. While serving as a missionary in Japan,
Lloyd met Muriel Hayward, a Californian who was teaching at a mission school
in Fukuoka. Together, they have led a life of ministry ever since.
The Neves have
served in Kurume, Japan; the Japan Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tokyo;
Obihiro, Japan; the Japan Christian Women’s University in Tokyo;
Lae, Papua New Guinea and Mapumulo, South Africa. In all, 40 years of missionary
work. In 1988, they retired to Blair, just 10 yards from the residence hall where
Lloyd lived four decades before.
Since retiring, the Neves have volunteered for
Bread for the World, N Street Village, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and, of course,
as active members of the Dana
community.
Lloyd Neve humbly thanked the college for the award,
and credited his wife and
fellow Dana alumnus the Rev. Art Simon — founder of Bread for the World
and brother of the late Sen. Paul Simon — with teaching him to be a servant.
“One must work with, and for, the poor on their level to help them get
enough food for their families, jobs to support themselves and adequate housing,
which would make family life possible,” he said.
Muriel Neve also addressed
the audience, telling of her work at N Street Village,
a women’s shelter about a mile north of the White House in Washington,
D.C. At the shelter, Muriel mans the craft/needlework room, providing work therapy
for the women, the majority of whom are mentally ill.
“Every day is a challenge,” she said. “I usually can be nice
to everyone — with a little help from above — but when I don’t
succeed, they tell me so, often with profanity.”
Christopherson praised
the Neves for their commitment to such difficult work.
“For many, ‘neighbor’ is the person next door so long as that
person is easy to like,” he said. “For Lloyd and Muriel, their definition
of ‘neighbor’ includes those who are different, difficult and maybe
even undesirable. It especially includes the poor, the hungry and the outcast.
They have been wonderful supporters of Dana who show us how to live like the
servant Christ.”
The Hanson Servant Award was presented to the Neves
during the Dana College Builders Luncheon, an annual celebration
for donors who have
included Dana College in
their estate plans. The award is named for Dr. Clifford T. and D. Florence
Hanson, who, during their lifetimes, were inspired by their Christian
faith to give generously
of themselves in service to their church, community, country and Dana College.
Clifford Hanson was a professor of philosophy and religion at Dana and the
first to be named vice president of academic affairs. Florence
Hanson was an associate
in ministry at First Lutheran Church in Blair for several years, was involved
with numerous civic organizations and served as campus hostess for many Dana
College functions.
Dana College is a place where all students actively
participate. They make things
happen — in their own lives and in the lives of others. Through a highly
supportive faculty and campus community, Dana students develop interpersonal
skills, leadership abilities, and other important values and knowledge as they
make choices about their future. Dana’s outstanding academic programs in
business, education, music and social work, among others, ensure that students
have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to pursue challenging careers
or placement in graduate school.
Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution
in Blair, Neb. To learn more,
visit www.dana.edu.
Dana College: Develop talents,
Take charge, Build a future — We’re
with you all the way.
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END—
For more information contact:
Sarah Cavanah
Communications Coordinator
Dana College
(402) 426-7216
scavanah@dana.edu
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