Elizabeth Jane Doering, whose phenomenal love of writing blessed Forever Learning for years, passed away on August 23, 2024. Her students will greatly miss her amazing grasp of literature. Please see her full obituary by clicking above.
Forever Learning will host a Gala Celebration in honor of our 50th year on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at Morris Park Country Club in South Bend. Please click the link above for information and tickets for our event, which includes dinner, dancing, and a silent auction.
As Forever Learning continues to grow and serve our students, we are in need of an additional person to assist us in fulfilling that mission. We are currently seeking a part-time Development Coordinator to assist in donor activities, the planning and execution of our annual events and marketing our program. Click here to download the job description.
Former Board of Directors member and friend of Forever Learning Institute, Don Mitchell, passed away on Friday, August 19. Don will be long remembered at Forever for his humble service to our school. Please see his full obituary and services by clicking the name above.
Jack Williams, whose phenomenal intellect and love of learning blessed Forever Learning for years, passed away on June 15, 2022. His students will greatly miss his amazing grasp of politics, history and culture. Please see his full obituary by clicking above.
Ralph Edward Radecki, beloved teacher, supporter and friend of Forever Learning Institute passed away on Saturday, July 9, 2022. Ralph spent his life teaching Latin, art and classical literature and we are honored that he chose Forever Learning to continuing sharing his gifts in retirement. His many students and friends will miss him greatly. Please click on his name above for Ralph's full obituary.
Forever Learning Institute has long enjoyed a close relationship with the University of Notre Dame. Our founder, Rev. Louis Putz, C.S.C. lived and taught at Notre Dame his entire adult life. Throughout our history, we have been blessed to host numerous faculty, retired faculty, and alumni who have found Forever Learning to be a great outlet for their many gifts. University students have discovered Forever to be an excellent opportunity to engage with the local community in unexpected ways. This semester, members of the student club CS4Good taught a class entitled ‘Internet Safety and Communication’ at Forever Learning. Each week Rebecca Hunt, Jane Stallman, Andrew Pelham and Isaiah Michael Alvendia assisted our students with password hygiene, scam detection, privacy protection and social media. Students from the club have also assisted in our basic computing classes. University students have taught origami, Mandarin and assisted us with setup and cleanup of fundraising events.
It is with heavy hearts that we need to announce the passing of our beloved board member, teacher, and friend, Br. Paul Kelly, C.S.C. His sweet, gentle nature and fantastic cooking skills will be missed by us all. Please remember him and his family in your prayers.
Forever Learning will host a six-week remote learning semester through January and February 2022, offering students the opportunity to stay involved from the comfort and safety of home. We are offering German, Chair Yoga, Demystifying Medicare, the Natural History of Indiana with St. Joseph County Park naturalists, Sign Language, a study of the novel Wuthering Heights and a Watercolor Workshop. Registration opens December 1.
Join us to celebrate a lifetime of learning as IUSB honor students host a short walk to celebrate our mutual love of learning. We will meet on Saturday, November 13 at 2 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Park. Please bring your family, friends and pets to stroll along the beautiful river path with fellow learners. There is no cost for this event, just a fun way of enjoying the fall weather with students of every generation.
We are again saddened to post the loss of a special person, teacher and beloved member of our Silvertones Glee Club, Andrew Betts. Andrew served Forever Learning Institute for many years and will be long remembered for his gentle heart and ready joke. Please keep Andrew's family in your prayers.
Forever Learning Institute lost a beloved teacher and friend this week, Dr. Steven Gable. Steve began teaching literature at Forever in 2015 and has not missed a semester since. His love of a well constructed sentence, his amazing knowledge and unending humor drew students to his classes year after year. Steve typically taught an American classic novel including the works of William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck. Steve also taught a class on American Presidential Elections and created a course describing the works of art and stained glass windows in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of The University of Notre Dame with amazing and fascinating details of the history and symbolism of each work. During the pandemic and forced move to Zoom, Steve continued to lead his classes each week. "Steve's classes were the highlight of my week, and they helped me get through Covid's shutdowns, stress, and losses thanks to Steve's insight, humor and hope. He also brought me back to classic literature, not only reminding me what I had loved and missed about these kind of books and stories but also showing what depths of understanding were still to be gained from the literature, from his scholarship and perspective, and from the wisdom waiting in group discussions led by a kind, thoughtful, and hilarious instructor," said one of his students. "I know I will finish reading All the King's Men someday, when the tears diminish, because Steve would want us to, and I will try to hear his voice and hang on to the gifts he gave all of us." We struggled to put words together that would do Steve justice, but find that this beautifully worded obituary does in for us. We too, will miss him forever.