Dr. Fred Spurgat was called to his eternal home Wednesday morning, February 7, 2018. His service to the Lord at Concordia University Chicago and throughout the Church has impacted multitudes of students, faculty and staff over many years. As a child he was baptized into Christ and the promises of his Baptism have been fulfilled.
He was husband of Eunice G. nee Nuechterlein; loving father of Valerie Crone, Liam Wolf and Julie (Jerry) Novak; grandfather of James (Jenny) Crone and Joshua and Jacob Novak; great grandfather of Addy and Emma Crone. Brother of Frances Benson, Carolyn Meyer, Miki McClelland and Mary Spurgat (deceased).
A celebration of Fred’s life and service will be held at Concordia University Chicago, 7400 Augusta Street, River Forest, IL 60305, this Saturday, February 10 in the Chapel of our Lord. Visitation with the family will be at 9:00 a.m. followed by worship at 11:00 a.m. Alumni who wish to participate in the choir may join rehearsals at 10 a.m. in McCormick Recital Hall. In order to include long-distance family and friends, the service will be livestreamed at CUChicago.edu/live.
Fred’s family asks that gifts in honor of his life be directed to the Eunice G. and Fred A. Spurgat Endowment which provides unrestricted support for their alma mater. To give online, select the “Spurgat Endowment” from the designation drop down menu.
Dr. Spurgat served at Concordia University Chicago from 1952-1997. Fred officially retired on December 31, 1997 as both Professor of Economics and SVP for Administration after 45 years of continuous service on the campus. Following retirement, he served as Special Assistant to the Vice President for Finance/CFO through June 2017. At his retirement, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus of Economics and Administration.
He came to Concordia Teachers College as a high school freshman in the fall of 1944. He graduated from the high school in 1948 and continued his studies for a bachelor’s degree, which he completed in 1952. Fred was awarded an MBA in Accounting in 1961 and a PhD in Organization Theory in 1976, both from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His doctoral research work involved numerous visits to both NASA and Chicago Northwestern Railroad sites.
Dr. Spurgat was a founding member of the Association of Business Administrators of Christian Colleges (ABACC) in 1960 and served continuously on the ABACC board for 58 years. In addition, Fred served on a number of LCMS Synodical Boards including Concordia Worker Benefit Plans, Office of Information Systems Management Board, Commission on Human Resources, and Telecommunications Advisory Group.