This scholarship was established in 2023 by Barbara’s husband, Pastor John Strackbein WLS ’79, with a foundational gift from the South Central District of WELS and further gifts from Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Oklahoma City, where Pastor Strackbein and Barbara served. The scholarship pays tribute to Barbara’s life of service and honors our heavenly Father, who gave her such wonderful gifts to serve.
Barbara (1951-2023) met the love of her life, John Strackbein, at Bethany Lutheran College, where she was a cook and he was a dishwasher. She graduated from Concordia Teachers College in 1973 and went on to teach third grade at Holy Cross Lutheran School in Emma, Missouri (LCMS). On July 4, 1974, Barbara and John were married. While John took preseminary courses at Bethany Lutheran College, Barbara became a nurse’s aide. While John was at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Barbara had three sons. After John graduated in 1979, he received a call to serve two congregations in Salina and Russell, Kansas, and there the couple had two more sons.
In 1987, the family moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, to learn Spanish for five months in preparation for a call to Puerto Rico, where they served as missionaries for 18 years. These years were very special to the couple, and this scholarship was set up to acknowledge and foster the work of the gospel among Spanish-speaking peoples.
In 2005, the Strackbeins were called to Holy Cross Lutheran Church, where John continues to serve as pastor. At Holy Cross, Barbara filled many roles: teaching children in the “No Child Left Behind” program, working as a cook at a public grade school, singing alto in the church choir, teaching Sunday School, and occasionally playing organ or trombone for worship. She also enjoyed painting biblical scenery and writing Bible verse cards as gifts.
Barbara loved being a mom. She adored her husband and five sons and loved spending time with her grandchildren. And more than anything else, she dedicated her entire self to her Savior.
Her husband, John, writes, “Barbara’s love for Jesus and his Word is worth remembering. Her greatest desire was that she could use her life to share that love with as many people as possible.” He hopes that Barbara’s desire to share Jesus’ love will be echoed in the heart and life of the recipient of this memorial scholarship.
Scholarship recipients are MLC students who demonstrate scholastic merit and financial need and, more specifically, who were born in the Caribbean or in Latin America or are studying Spanish at MLC.
John and Barbara Strackbein
