Rev. Don Wilke: From Cow Boy to Shepherd

By Rev. Don Wilke
For many of the ‘65 classmates, I perhaps was remembered as one of those kids from out in the country. I didn’t get the opportunity to enjoy a lot of extra-curricular activities, though I did enjoy baseball. When the weather was nice, I enjoyed riding my motorcycle to school. Most of my spare time was spent on the then large dairy farm near Miltona.
Following high school I went into partnership with Dad, working the fields and tending the cows. In March of 1968 I married my sweetheart from Parkers Prairie, Joanne Boehne. But by the fall of that year, something was tugging at me to venture out into the world-- that is, away from the farm. I soon discovered that the Lord was leading me from the meadows of Miltona to His pastures; so I went from being a "cow" boy to a shepherd.
It took eight years of post high school education, from Concordia College in St. Paul to Concordia Seminary of St. Louis, Missouri, to get there; but it happened. When He is leading and you are willing to follow, exciting things happen.
Well, following both graduations, I served Lutheran congregations in Rome, New York; Ottertail, Minnesota –- these were four great years, because our boys were able to experience the farming community having some of their school and church friends living on the farms where they spent many hours—and finally Eagan, Minn.
Perhaps many classmates may think being a pastor is boring, but ultimately there is nothing more rewarding than to share His story and lead people to the assurance of eternity. Boy, if you think these past 40 years have been something and have gone by too fast—you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Hold unto those reins ‘cause eternity’s a’cumin. Whoops, just about got on my fence-post again! (Soap box for some, street corner, or pulpit for others).
Well, back to my story! In 1994 I left the parish ministry and attended Methodist Hospital Chaplaincy training program in St. Louis Park, Minn., and in 1995 I began working in long term care facilities as a chaplain. I spent over four years in Youngstown, Ohio, at a very large institution before coming back to Minnesota. I accepted the call to be chaplain at Good Shepherd Community in Sauk Rapids, Minn., in 1999 and have been here ever since. We do enjoy being back in Minnesota.
My wife and I have been blessed with two sons, both of which were born during our college days. Major Steven Wilke (U.S. Army, age 35) is a career officer in the military, transportation corps and logistics, serving the 75th Ranger Regiment and presently stationed in Germany with the Special Operations European Support Team. He and his wife, Yeni, (from Honduras) and two boys will soon be stationed in Colorado, which we excitedly await. Our second son, Darren, age 32, is environmental officer for Big Stone County, Minnesota. Darren and his wife, Jolene, have a daughter and son.
My wife and I enjoy traveling when opportunity presents itself. In 1997 we traveled to Honduras for our son's wedding. In 2000, we hosted a tour to the Luther Lands in Germany, and hosted an Alaskan cruise and tour in 2003. An additional highlight in my ministry was last year when I had the privilege of preaching at the two large churches in Wittenberg, Germany, for two weeks, with the Wittenberg English Ministry.
Well, that pretty well corrals our wanderings for this roundup!
Don and Joanne (Boehne)Wilke
Joanne is a ’65 Parkers Prairie grad.