On Oct. 1, 2024, Rev. Dr. Paul “Doc” Foelber was called to his heavenly home. Foelber served as Concordia University Ann Arbor’s Fine Arts Department Chair and Choral Director from the college’s inception to 1990.
As a founding faculty member of Concordia Ann Arbor who served the institution for nearly 30 years, Doc Foelber’s impact was felt by decades of alumni. A memorial service and reception will be held in February in Oviedo, Florida.
Paul Foelber Memorial Service and Reception
February 8, 2025 | 1 p.m.
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church
2021 West State Road 426, Oviedo, Florida
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Trinity HOPE, a charity that provides food to thousands of hungry children attending Christian schools in Haiti. Donations may be made at trinityhope.org/donate, or by mail to Trinity HOPE, P.O. Box 2910, Lebanon, TN 37088.
Editor’s note: The family of Paul Foelber wrote the following obituary and granted permission for CUAA to share it here.
Paul (Frederick) Foelber, 1926-2024
Paul Foelber, 98, went to his heavenly home on October 1, 2024. Paul was born in Fort Wayne, IN to Esther and Elmer Foelber on June 11, 1926, the youngest of five children – Ruth, Harold, Esther, and Robert. From an early age, Paul loved music, all sports, and fishing. He studied piano, organ, viola and voice; he also played baseball and tennis. Paul attended Concordia Junior College in Fort Wayne, and then Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis, MO. While at the seminary, he played shortstop on the baseball team, captained the tennis team, sang in The Bach Choir of St. Louis, and sat first chair in the viola section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. With encouragement from the director of the symphony, Paul took a one-year leave of absence from the seminary to accept a scholarship at Northwestern University School of Music and earned a Masters in Instrumental Music. He then returned to the seminary and completed his Doctor of Divinity degree.
Upon graduation from the seminary, Paul married Dorothea Gerken. They moved to Seward, Nebraska, where Paul taught at Concordia University for two years. Paul then accepted a call to start a church, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he grew a congregation from 8 members to over 400 members in 4 years and completed his coursework for a Ph.D.in Sacred Music at Catholic University. He then accepted a position to chair the music department at St. John’s College, Winfield, KS, and completed his Ph.D during his time teaching and coaching there.
In 1963, Paul accepted the offer to chair the Fine Arts Department of Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he taught courses in music and humanities, and coached the tennis team. He also directed the Concordia College Choir and conducted the choir in performances throughout the United States and in Europe. During his time in Ann Arbor, Paul also directed the Ann Arbor Cantata Singers and served on both the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Commission of Worship and the Inter-Lutheran Commission of Worship. Paul was frequently invited to minister to Lutheran churches all over Michigan, ranging from close-by towns like Walled Lake to northern cities like Alpena, where he was invited to both preach and fish!
In 1991, Paul accepted a position as pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Heartland, MI, where he served for three years. He and Dorothea then moved to Lutheran Haven, a Lutheran retirement community in Oviedo, FL. During his time in Florida, Paul served as pastoral assistant or interim pastor at several Lutheran churches in Florida for over 20 years. He also created and directed the Lutheran Cantata Choir. Ever aware of the needs of others, Paul and Dorothea organized a community-wide volunteer visitation system so Lutheran Haven Assisted Living and Lutheran Haven Nursing Home residents would be visited once a week, and they oversaw that visiting program during the time they lived in Florida. In February 2024, Paul and Dorothea moved from Florida to the Goodwin House, a retirement community in Falls Church, VA. Dorothea and their children were at Paul’s bedside at the Goodwin House on the day he peacefully went to heaven.
Paul is preceded in death by his daughter, Ann (Foelber) Nolendorf. He is survived by his wife, Dorothea, of 73 years, his children, Richard Foelber (spouse Barbara) of Alexandria, VA; Steven Foelber (spouse Lorna) of Kona, HI; Maureen Harris (spouse Jay) of Arlington, VA. Paul leaves 9 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service and reception will be held at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 2021 West State Road 426, Oviedo, FL, at 1:00 pm on February 8, 2025.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Trinity HOPE, a charity that provides food to thousands of hungry children attending Christian schools in Haiti. Donations may be made at trinityhope.org/donate, or by mail to Trinity HOPE, P.O. Box 2910, Lebanon, TN 37088.