Remembering Peter Wessler

In loving memory of Peter Wessler

2018: Peter with his LSM quilt, made by faculty member, Cathy McCord Larsen.

The LSM Community grieves together in the news that Peter Wessler died this week due to COVID-19 complications.

Peter served as the LSM Academy Director since 2003 and was both the face and the backbone of the LSM summer community for almost two decades. Perhaps no one else had a greater impact on the LSM community than Peter. His leadership always included kindness, patience, dedication to the students, and a reverence to the program he served. Peter was devoted to LSM because of its impact on his family after his two children (Jonathan and Daniel) attended as students. With all that Peter has given for almost two decades, he still recently commented that he hadn’t even begun to give back what LSM has given to his family.

Before and during LSM each year Peter rose to meet new challenges, eager to solve the puzzle that each new year presented and make the summer academy run without a hitch. We know that only a fraction of his hard work was visible, as he would wake up with the sun and set himself to task hours before the community gathered for Morning Prayer and heard his announcements for our day. His hard work was punctuated always with joy, good humor, and warmth, setting the tone for the welcoming environment at LSM. With his humble and inviting leadership, Peter effortlessly earned the respect of the entire faculty and student body. LSM was in good hands with Peter at the helm for 17 years. Peter was not only a faithful servant to LSM, but a friend to all, and an irreplaceable fixture in our community and our lives.

In addition to Peter’s service to LSM, he also served for 40 years as an orchestra teacher in Peoria, IL. He served as the choir director at his Church, and in his “retirement” from teaching, enjoyed being a driver for Peoria Charter.

We offer our sincerest condolences to Peter’s family, mourn with them, and celebrate this great man who was, above all, devoted to his faith and family. If you wish to share a card with Peter’s family, you may mail letters to the LSM office at the address below.

Additionally, many have already asked about contributing a memorial gift to LSM in honor of Peter. We have created a scholarship fund in his honor, which you may view online here. You may also mail a gift to the LSM office at the address below.

Wessler Family

c/o Lutheran Summer Music

P.O. Box 8687

Minneapolis, MN 55408

Peter’s shoes are impossible to fill. We will find a way to pay tribute to Peter during LSM 2021 and into perpetuity.