Biography of Gerhard T. Alexis, Jr.

Gerhard's eldest child and only son, Gerhard Junior, was born on January 20, 1918. Despite losing his father at age nine, "Junior" (as his mother fondly referred to him) excelled at music and school from an early age, completing his Ph.D. coursework during his twenty-first year. He supported his schooling by working summers at Glacier National Park, affording him experiences which would profoundly influence his later academic work.

He returned from his service as a lieutenant in Europe during World War II and married Ilene Linnerooth on August 16, 1947. That same year he began a respected lifelong career at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Mn, where he taught American Literature and writing. He is especially remembered for the development of his well-received course Wilderness and the American Mind.

He retired in 1983 after thirty-six years of service, having received the Greater Gustavus Award. His photograph hangs in the room where he taught, which is known as the Gerhard T. Alexis Room.

Gerhard and Ilene continue to be honorably remembered at Gustavus by the Gerhard and Ilene Alexis Memorial Bluebird Trail and by the Gerhard and Ilene Alexis Scholarship Fund.

They died together in an automobile accident on January 31, 1993, while returning home from church.