Wonderful People to Know | Remembering the Budahls
It’s hard to find someone in the Maranatha family who doesn’t know Monty and Louise Budahl, at least one of their kids, or their granddaughter, a current student at MBU. The Budahls are a pillar of the Maranatha community.
On Monday, January 24, 2022, Dr. Monty and Louise Budahl entered the presence of their Savior five hours apart. Visitation and memorial service details can be found here.
Monty Budahl started as a music faculty member at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in the fall of 1969 where he met his wife, Louise. They were married in 1970.
“The Budahls were talented, yet humble servants who invested everything for the sake of Jesus Christ,” President Dr. Marty Marriott shared. “They highly valued their family, their ministries in the local church, and their investment at Maranatha. In doing so, they have touched thousands of lives.”
Budahl was influential in the development of Maranatha’s Music Department and is considered the Father of Maranatha music. He oversaw the band, succeeded Dr. Edward Burckart as the orchestra director, and assumed the role of Director of the Madrigal Choir after Mrs. Cedarholm. He conducted this choir for 20 years, from 1987-2007.
CEO Dr. Matt Davis affirmed, “Monty Budahl’s impact is impossible to comprehend from a human vantage point. His leadership, vision, and passion for excellence transcended the field of music and reached every student that graced the halls of Maranatha during his long tenure. The testimony of his life personified the commitment to local church ministry Maranatha’s mission idealizes. His love for the Savior was evident to all. That love poured out to his students and changed them forever. My brother, Jeff (2002, Music Education), sang in Dr. Budahl’s choir for five years and recalls:
‘Dr. Budahl created a choir culture that mirrored his personality. He chose enthusiastic music that was both artful, rich textually, and challenging. He would rehearse with grace to our mistakes and yet find those teachable moments as often as possible. His bombastic way of using his whole body to demonstrate the affect he was pursuing, was purposeful and memorable…even if it meant having the entire choir follow him around the room, turn everyone into a conductor, or move to the stairwell for better acoustics. He personally cared for each member; I even remember feeling like he reserved his pinky finger to personally adjust the tenor section. Dr. Budahl cared for what I thought of God. He wanted me to grow and magnify my understanding about God through every aspect of my music making and my future music teaching.’”
“Dr. Bu”, as he was affectionately known, worked at Maranatha for 46 years. And as he thought about the future, he made a phone call to Dr. David Brown.
“‘We’ve been praying about you coming up here to replace me. I’m getting ready to retire,’” Dr. Brown recalled Dr. Budahl saying. Although Dr. Budahl formally retired, Brown shared that, “He never really did retire. As long as he could write music, as long as he could help in the fine arts, he helped.” Dr. Brown took over the Madrigal Choir after Dr. Budahl.
“Dr. Brown and I have told people that we believe we are clipping coupons from their investment,” Dr. David Ledgerwood, Chair of the Music Department shared. “They were such sacrificial, godly people. We still reap the benefits from their investment.” Dr. Ledgerwood had the privilege of working with Dr. Budahl for roughly 30 years. Their offices were next door to each other, and this built a special bond between the musicians.
“He was really genuine, and Louise was the same way,” Dr. Ledgerwood said. “A wonderful person to know and a great blessing.”
Many have shared memories and reflected on the Budahls’ impact and Dr. Ledgerwood summed it up well: “Some of the greatest gifts we have are not so much material things, but people who have been brought into our lives.”
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Author’s Note: In 2018, the Music Department wrote a biographical article on Dr. Budahl, which you can read here.