Recently one of the members who helped transform Mesa State College into Colorado Mesa University passed away. Carl Wahlberg passed away on August 23, 2017. He was 93 years old.
Wahlberg was an acting president of Mesa College from 1974-1975. He worked with past president John Tomlinson and Ted Albers to grow the campus into a state university. Lena Elliott worked with Wahlberg. Elliott was a founding member of the board of trustees.
“We worked with him when we were raising money for the foundation,” Elliot said.
Elliott explained how he would personally go door-to-door to hand out flyers or be in person at events.
“He was a wonderful man and a hard worker,” Elliot said. “Carl would do anything for CMU.”
Tilman Bishop, who is currently on the board of trustees, was at the time in the legislature.
“He worked with Albers, then John took over and they continued the transition,” Bishop said. “He served a good purpose for Mesa College.”
When Wahlberg was the acting president the board was attempting to find a full-time president. After Tomlinson took over, Wahlberg stayed on as vice president.
“He was very student-oriented,” Bishop said. “When John Tomlinson came over he didn’t quite know what to expect of Carl not getting the job, but working as the VP, Tomlinson knew he had a winner.”
Wahlberg had a memorial service in Grand Junction at the Center for Spiritual Living on Sept. 16. Community members and Tomlinson attended. Tomlinson spoke at the service.
“He was close with Carl and his stories at the memorial were really good,” Elliot said.
The Wahlberg family was involved in the church. He was a church practitioner. The family is also involved in the academics and scholarships at CMU. There is a scholarship under Betty and Carl Wahlberg Partnership scholarship for $800.
According to the Rotary Club of Grand Junction at their meeting on Sept. 20, there will be a bust of Wahlberg placed in the CMU library. The hope is to keep Wahlberg remembered by the community, faculty and students. Wahlberg was one who helped make the university what it is today.
Wahlberg was born on April 11, 1924, and was born and died in Illinois. The Grand Junction Sentinel posted an obituary on Sept. 3, with kind words from community members.
“He was an incredible CMU Maverick,” Elliott said.
