Niels Ingwersen

Madison - Niels Ingwersen, age 74 passed away on Saturday, November 14, 2009, in the HospiceCare Center in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.

Niels was born on May 18, 1935, in Horsens, Denmark, to Hans Henrik and Karen (Bach) Ingwersen. He studied Scandinavian literature at the University of Copenhagen, Stockholm University, and the University of Oslo, where he met an American student from Wyoming, Faith Boswell Sloniger, who was to be the love of his life.  

Faith and Niels were married in Tybjerg, Denmark in 1961.  Together they moved to the United States to study at the University of Chicago, then to Madison, Wisconsin, where Niels was appointed to the Scandinavian Studies faculty at the University of Wisconsin in 1965.

For almost forty years, Niels was a key faculty member at UW-Madison, serving several times as chair of Scandinavian Studies and Folklore as well as teaching thousands of students.  He also served as visiting professor at the Universities of Odense and Aarhus in Denmark and at UCLA.   

Niels won several teaching awards for his popular courses on Scandinavian literature. A multimedia version of his class on Hans Christian Andersen had a record enrollment of over 800 students and was one of the first to be offered through the University of Wisconsin Extension on public television. 

Niels was the author of several scholarly works on Danish literature.  In addition, he co-authored two works with his wife, Faith, on Martin A. Hansen and Martin Andersen Nexe.  His last book, released in 2008, was on narrative folklore.  In 2009, The Nordic Storyteller: Essays in Honor of Niels Ingwersen was published in Cambridge, England.

For his promotion of Danish literature and culture in the United States, Niels was knighted on February 7, 1997, with the Order of the Dannebrog, by Queen Margrethe II's representative.  The Order, established in 1671, honors Danish citizens who have contributed to arts, sciences, and commerce.

After his retirement in 2003, Niels and Faith began spending long summers outside Sheridan, where Faith had lived during her childhood on her family's ranch.  The open skies and Western landscape held a special place in Niels's heart.  Confirming his belief in participatory democracy, Niels became a United States citizen and cast his first presidential vote in the 2008 election.

Niels is survived by his wife, Faith, in Madison; his brother, Jern; nephew, Thomas; niece Bianca; and grand nephew, Magnus, in Denmark; as well as his sister-in-law, nieces and nephews in Colorado and Oregon, and countless friends on both sides of the Atlantic.

Memorials may be gifted to the UW Foundation's ""Faith and Niels Ingwersen Fund,"" US Bank Lockbox 78807, Milwaukee, WI  53278. The Fund supports the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 1:30 PM at FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 53705.