Constance Leone Wallin

Musician and educator Constance Leone Wallin died Saturday, September 19, 2026. She was 83. Connie was best known locally for being the organist at Resurrection Lutheran Church for 15 years. She excelled at leading the congregation in worship through music: preludes, liturgy, accompanying choir anthems, and postludes. In addition to being an organist, Connie was an elementary and middle school music teacher.

Connie, the youngest of three, was born April 30, 1943, in Long Prairie, MN to Phillip and Leona Bergh. Connie graduated from Long Prairie High School in 1961 and followed her siblings to St. Olaf College. In her own words, “My goal after high school was to go to St. Olaf, major in music education, and get a job teaching music. During my sophomore year I met a new music teacher in Long Prairie. His name was Duane Wallin, a Concordia graduate, which gave us a common interest in music. He stayed around Long Prairie for the summer, and since we both worked at Lake Charlotte, we got to know each other better. I continued at St. Olaf, and we got engaged at Christmas of my junior year. We planned on getting married after I graduated, but plans changed again. Duane’s father Clarence was diagnosed with leukemia, was given 6 months to live, and so we moved our wedding up a year to June 20, 1964. Clarence died the morning after our wedding. That fall Duane got a teaching job in St. Paul, and I commuted to St. Olaf for my senior year. It was an interesting year because I also student taught in Minneapolis and continued to be involved with St. Olaf life as well as being a newlywed.”

Connie graduated from St. Olaf in May of 1965, and that fall she started teaching music at Hillside Elementary school in Cottage Grove, MN, a suburb of St. Paul. Additionally, Connie continued playing the organ for her church (something she started at a young age in Long Prairie).

In 1967, Connie stopped teaching when she and Duane were blessed with their first daughter, Sherry. Soon after, they welcomed another bundle of joy, Anne, and their family was set. Faith, love, and music were Connie’s foundation as she raised her two amazing daughters. After the girls were older, Connie went back to teaching as the middle school music teacher in Woodbury, MN. Connie retired from teaching in 2001. Connie was also the organist at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Woodbury, MN until 2001. In 2001 Connie and Duane moved to Greenwood, IN to be closer to Sherry and their granddaughters. Serendipitously, the organist job opened at Sherry’s church (Resurrection Lutheran), and Connie came out of retirement to be their organist.

Connie’s happy place was always near water. For nearly 15 years on the last day of school, she and Duane would pack up the girls and drive to their cottage on Lake Moses, near Long Prairie, where they spent the entire summer skiing, swimming, and hosting “cousins’ weeks.” After they sold the cottage, Connie and Duane would be annual snowbirds driving to Fort Myers, FL enjoying the ocean, the weather, the restaurants and hosting “grandchildren weeks.”

Connie is survived by daughters Sherry (Scott) Andersen and Anne Erickson; grandchildren Cassie Andersen, Greta Andersen, Clara (Ryan) Hebdon and Quincy Erickson; sister Amy Koehn; in-laws Karen Bergh, Carol Ann (Bob) Kolodejchuk; and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Duane, her parents, her brother Allen, and brother-in-law Gordon Koehn.

In the later years, Connie battled Alzheimer’s Disease. While AD cruelly robbed her of her memories, it could not touch her spirit and song in her heart. She was often catching a tune in the background, bouncing to the beat or counting the notes in her fingers. Additionally, her caregivers in the hospital and assisted living facilities would frequently comment on how she was their favorite patient as she was always so cheery. Her family and loved ones have been missing Connie for several years now but are comforted in their faith that she is in a better place…shining, smiling, and bouncing to the beat.

A memorial service will be held on November 9, 2026 at 11:00 A.M. at Resurrection Lutheran Church with a gathering for family and friends from 10:00 A.M. until service time. The service will be livestreamed at https://vimeo.com/event/5573227/5943ff0fba.

Swartz Family Community Mortuary and Memorial Center is handling the arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to Resurrection Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, IN or https://rlcindy.org/give/ or Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org/

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