Ogren consulted with Covenant administrators and artist Bruce Fallert on the logo, which was introduced in 1975. Ogren had designed and printed many of the publications for the Covenant and North Park University at the time that President Milton Engebretson and Secretary Cliff Bjorklund asked him to lead the project.
Despite being the strategic designer, Ogren rarely talked about his role in development of the logo. “He was always very quiet about it,” says his son, Mark Ogren. “He never outwardly tried to take credit for it.”
His daughters all wear a necklace fashioned after the logo, which receives a lot of comments, Mark Ogren says. When people ask about the necklace, the daughters have used it as an opportunity to share the gospel. “It’s a natural starting point,” he adds.
Ogren was born in Lockport, Illinois, in 1914, where he grew up attending the Lockport Covenant Church. At the age of 14, he started his own printing business in the garage of his parents’ home. He later founded the business, The Ogren Press.
Ogren moved his family to Kinshasa, Congo, in 1948 and opened a Christian publishing house. He printed material used by Covenant missionaries and trained Congolese in the business. The publishing house, which continues to operate, printed Bibles and literature in 12 languages. He returned to the United States in 1956 and considered the eight years “to be among the best of his life,” says Mark Ogren.
“He was a good businessman and was very interested in helping the African people,” says Bob Thornbloom, Covenant missionary to Congo.
Thornbloom recalled that Ogren made the arduous trip from Kinshasa to remote villages where Covenant missionaries were working. “He wanted to go and see the people who would be using the material.”
Such actions were important to Ogren, who wanted to make sure his work was beneficial.
“No matter what he was doing, he had a drive to see his vision through,” says son-in-law Bob Anderson, who is married to Ogren’s daughter, Betsy.
“He was always there to go above and beyond the call of duty,” says Carolyn Pitezel, who now coordinates the annual Covenant Midwinter Pastors Conference and frequently worked with Ogren on Covenant publications. “People can’t relate today what it was like to deal with all that typesetting.”
Ogren was heavily involved with the church in Lockport, where he was a longtime director of the choir. “He took a tremendous amount of pride in his relationship with the Covenant,” says his son.
Ogren also sang professionally with the Swedish Choral Society and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Other activities included serving on the board of directors for the Chicago chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Jean Ogren; a son, Erik, and a daughter, Kathleen. He is survived by daughters Mary Richards, Betsy Anderson and Cyndee Davee; and a son, Mark Ogren.
Memorials may be directed to Angels Grace Hospice or to television station WVCY-TV in Milwaukee – the memorials can be mailed to Bob Anderson, P.O. Box 386, Hartland, WI, 53029, and he will forward them to the appropriate location.
The church is located at 777 South Barker Road in Brookfield. For more information or directions, call the church staff at 262-786-7051.
