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Alvera Myrtle Johnson Mickelsen

Born April 3, 1919; Married August 9, 1952 (A. Berkeley Mickelsen, d. May 3, 1990)

Children: Ruth Ann Mickelsen, October 16, 1954; Lynnell Margaret Mickelsen, June 26, 1957

I was born April 3, 1919, when my parents, Oscar and Ruth Anderson Johnson,
were living on a farm near LaPorte, Indiana.  The family attended the Baptist General
Conference church in LaPorte, and last summer (1983), we four surviving children
(Gilbert, Raymond, Melvin, and Alvera) allattended the 100th anniversary of the church's founding.

We moved to Michigan City, Indiana, in 1928. (My parents lived there until 1959, when
they moved to Wheaton, Illinois, where I, Bernice and Melvin were then living.)  I
went to Linfield College for one year, but when Uncle Elam was appointed president
of the University of Redlands, I transferred to Bethel Junior College in St. Paul,
later transferring again to Wheaton College for my last two years.  I earned a
Master's Degree in Christian Education at Wheaton and then worked as an editor for
Christian Life Magazine for six years and in my spare time earned a Master's Degree
in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston.  In 1949 I began working as an
editor for the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society, and also taught part-time
(journalism) at Wheaton College.  Berkeley, my husband, was also teaching at Wheaton, and we
were married in 1952.  (He graduated from Wheaton the same year as I, l942, but we
barely knew each other as students.)  I taught on and off at Wheaton and continued
writing for CBFMS until 1965 when we moved to St. Paul and Berkeley began teaching
at Bethel Theological Seminary.  I began teaching part-time at Bethel in 1968.

Since then, I have written curriculum materials for junior and senior high for David C.
Cook Publishing Company; written (with Berkeley) Family Bible Encyclopedia (2
volumes) for Cook Publishing; written Understanding Scripture for Regal Books; and
helped Berkeley with his book Daniel and Revelation--Riddles or Realities to be
published this summer by Thomas Nelson (1984).

We have been active in Salem Baptist Church, in nearby New Brighton, where I sing in
the choir, and we often teach Sunday school classes.  During the past few years Berkeley
and I have been team-teaching seminars in many churches on Biblical Teachings about
Men-Women Relationships.  We plan to write a book on this subject soon.

In 1979, we spent six months in Sweden.  Berkeley taught at two Baptist seminaries,
and we visited many relatives--both Sandbergs (Hannah Anderson's family) and
Fasths (the original name of Victor Anderson).  Among the Fasths, we were the first
descendants of Victor to visit.  We had a wonderful time swapping what we knew of the family.

In a serious automobile accident in September, 1982, both my legs were broken and I
had three operations.  God healed in a remarkable way, and we thank God for the good
health we both enjoy.  Berkeley has had diabetes since childhood, and his doctors are
amazed at his healthy kidneys and eyesight with no indication of damage.  We look
forward to more years of joyous service for our Lord.

Ruth Ann, our older daughter, is an attorney for the attorney general of the State
of Minnesota.  She attended the University of Minnesota and William Mitchell College of Law.

Lynnell, our younger daughter, is currently a reporter for the Detroit Free Press.
 After graduating from Wheaton College, she worked for one year in Indonesia,
interviewing and processing Vietnamese "boat people" refugees.  Later she earned a
Master's in Journalism at Columbia University, and worked for two years at the
Duluth, Minnesota, Herald-Tribune, before moving to Detroit last year.

- Alvera Mickelsen, 1984

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