PRESS RELEASE: THOM-PEDERSEN ENDOWMENT HONORS LEGACY OF SERVICE AT IOWA LAKES

Estherville, Iowa — A gift of more than $100,000 from Hank and Pam Pedersen has established the Thom-Pedersen Endowment at Iowa Lakes Community College, ensuring scholarships for students pursuing law enforcement and nursing will continue for generations.

The Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees formally accepted the gift at its Sept. 15 meeting. The endowed fund builds on the Thom-Pedersen Scholarships, which the Pedersen’s established in 2022 in memory of their longtime friend Robert “Bob” Anthony Thom. The scholarships were first awarded in 2023, with five students each receiving $1,000 annually.

Thom, who was born in Milwaukee, served three years in the U.S. Army, much of that time in Germany, where he worked as a construction machine operating engineer II and received the Army of Occupation Medal (Germany). After his military service, he became a Milwaukee police officer and received several commendations for his work. Later in his career, he worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Thom spent the final 25 years of his life in Mesa, Arizona, where he became close friends with the Pedersen’s, who are from Ledyard, Iowa. Hank and Thom shared a love of music, and Thom also played guitar and steel guitar, sang and shared his musical talents with Catholic churches in the Mesa community.

Thom died May 9, 2022, in Mesa and was laid to rest Nov. 16, 2022, at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix with full military honors. With no family, Thom left his estate to the Pedersen’s. They chose to use his legacy to help others by creating scholarships at Iowa Lakes in fields that reflected his life and experiences.

The law enforcement scholarship recognizes Thom’s years of service in uniform, while the nursing scholarship honors the medical and nursing care he received later in life. The Pedersen’s’ decision to endow the scholarships will provide ongoing support for future Iowa Lakes students.