Family of the YearHonorees

More on the Moellers

Retired educators and Jackrabbit alums Lon and Mary Moeller of Brookings have been named Family of the Year.

The family will be honored at an awards luncheon on February 21, 2026, followed by recognition at the men’s basketball game versus the University of North Dakota that afternoon. Joining in the celebration will be Lon and Mary’s three children, eight grandchildren (four of whom attended SDSU), and about 15 other family members, plus work colleagues.                

Lon, who taught at SDSU from 1981 to 2012, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ag education in 1970 and 1976, respectively. Mary taught at SDSU from 2007 to 2017 after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English in 1988 and 1993, respectively.

Their children followed in succession: Steve ’94/’96; Michael ’97; and Sheri ’00/’04. Two of their spouses are also SDSU grads.

Moellers took different routes to State

Lon was not only the first Moeller to graduate from SDSU – he was also the first one on either side of his family to go to college. However, his family recognized his academic aptitude early on. His grandpa called him Little Professor when he was a fifth and sixth grader. Lon went on to be valedictorian of his Garretson High School class.

Being a farm boy who wanted to teach ag education, Lon didn’t need to sort through college brochures to make his selection. 

Mary, on the other hand, actually started college life at Augustana University. They married June 23, 1970. With Steve, Michael, and Sheri arriving in 1971, 1974, and 1977, respectively, Mary stayed busy at home. By the time she returned to college part-time in the early 1980s, Lon was on the faculty at SDSU.

Taking a class or two per semester, Mary flourished under “brilliant” English faculty members like Chuck Woodard, Mary Haug, and John Taylor, along with teacher/mentors like Sue Hegg and Becky Ekeland.

The Moeller children soaked in a lot of Jackrabbit spirit while growing up. Steve, who earned a degree in food and biological materials engineering, did consider Purdue and even went on a campus visit. He determined the program was no better than what he had seen at SDSU and opted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He also received a prestigious Briggs Scholarship.

Michael followed in his dad’s footsteps even closer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in ag education and was in ROTC. (Lon also was in ROTC, where he was in the initial group of Coteau Rangers, and thought he would make a career of Army life. After three years in Germany — 1970-73 — the Moellers decided they didn’t want the nomadic life that military service brings.)

Michael spent four years in the military, taught high school ag education, farmed with his father-in-law, and now teaches online ag classes at Western Area Tech in Sioux City, Iowa.

Sheri was a state officer in FFA, so that also made SDSU a natural college pick. 

Started teaching high schoolers

In addition to his college experience, Lon spent six years teaching ag education at Beresford and was a teaching assistant at Iowa State for two years while pursuing his doctorate. Hilton Gada, who taught ag education at SDSU, told Lon that he would be retiring in a couple of years. Lon used that time to prepare to teach at the college level.

The job was waiting for him when he left Iowa State. Lon taught ag education for 31 years at SDSU, as well as spending 10 years (2000-10) as head of teacher education.

Mary taught English at Rutland High School (1988-94) and Brookings High School (1994-2007) before joining SDSU in the teacher education department. While pursuing her master’s degree, SDSU faculty encouraged her to get her doctorate. About that time, the University of South Dakota created a cohort for education leaders with classes offered in Brookings.

“Opportunity and interest came together,” said Mary, who completed her doctorate in adult education in 2004.

Mastering visual thinking strategies

Asked what made SDSU a good place to be a faculty member, the couple responded in unison, “colleagues.” Lon said, “I appreciated working with fellow ag professor Clark Hanson and state FFA executive director Robert Bell. I was also in contact with colleagues of the 22 different content areas where people could get a teaching certificate.”

Lon continues to work with the South Dakota FFA as the superintendent of the farm and agribusiness career development contest and represents SDSU at the same national event.

Mary’s activities outside the classroom drew the Moellers into a couple of interests they are still active in — visual thinking strategies and a church school in Belize.

Visual thinking utilizes photos or art to communicate knowledge or understanding. The curriculum was drafted in 1991 and promoted at SDSU by then-South Dakota Art Museum director Lynn Verschoor. The Moellers and faculty member Kay Cutler eventually went to Boston to study the concept under a Harvard University researcher.

They promoted visual thinking at workshops around the country and supported its implementation at Camelot Intermediate School in Brookings in 2009-12. This eventually led to an invitation for Mary to present visual thinking strategies at an education conference in China in 2019.

Both Moellers continue to practice the skill, particularly when giving tours at the art museum. Whether a group is comprised of preschoolers or senior citizens, the couple will have visitors view a piece of art for a minute and then ask them what is going on in the picture. Follow-up questions prompt viewers to give evidence for their answers.

“It is nonjudgmental, open conversation, sharing perspectives in a respectful way. There is no criticizing of perspectives,” Mary said.

Committed to helping in Belize

In 2012, the Moellers’ daughter, Sheri Kahnke, went on a mission trip to Belize. Upon returning, Sheri told her parents that they needed to go, as well.

That fall, “I opened my class up by saying teachers need to open themselves up to different experiences. I said I was a little nervous about it, but I think I am going to go on a trip to Belize,” said Mary. “‘If anyone wants to come with me, let me know.’ Afterward, a student came up to me and said, ‘I will go along, and can I bring my dad?’”

During spring break 2013, three students, Lon and Mary, and some fellow First Lutheran Church members went on an exploratory trip to the small parochial school in the village of San Jose Succotz near the Guatemalan border. It became a study abroad service-learning course while Mary was on the SDSU faculty, with about 10 to 15 students going annually. They taught English, biology, and agriculture to high school students and delivered teaching materials.

The school principal also tapped into Lon’s ag background. At her request, he helped develop a school farm through the years. That involved creating raised-bed gardens (as the soil at the school is poor) and building a sheep pen, a chicken coop, and a greenhouse. He even found an electric chicken plucker to eliminate the students’ tedious hand work during the annual harvest.

The Moellers are going to Belize again in March 2026 with family and other members of First Lutheran Church of Brookings.

An early Christmas surprise

That trip is about two weeks after the family will be honored by the SDSU Alumni & Foundation. Lon and Mary have already been honored — and surprised — by their family for their Jackrabbit legacy. 

Their children nominated the couple. Two weeks before Christmas 2025, Sheri Kahnke learned that the Moellers had been chosen as Family of the Year. She had not shared that with them when the family met for a December 20 Christmas gathering at the Moellers’ house southwest of Brookings. Before the meal, everyone was directed to the family room where a plaque was revealed, reading: “2026 South Dakota State University Family of the Year — The Lonell and Mary Moeller Family.”

“It was a fun way to do it. Everybody knew but us,” Lon said. “We are grateful for all the opportunities our whole family has enjoyed at SDSU.”