Barbara L. Lukermann

I was a good friend of her son Bruno, who also succumbed to cancer. I remember Barbara well. My sincere condolences to Barbara’s family and many friends.

I'm saddened to hear about Barbara's passing. As her neighbor, I got to know her while serving on our community association board. She was a great President with a real gift for assisting in finding solutions to small and large problems. She was also a wonderful host. I have fond memories of a dinner she helped organize to celebrate the boards work. My sincerest condolences to her family and many friends.

One of the single greatest introductions in my lifetime was to Barbara. I was external director of communications for Cuningham Group architects working on the Minneapolis Riverfront program. We had an ambitious dream to create an authentic public affairs program to visualize what the Minneapolis/St. Paul Mississippi Riverfront could be. The late, great urban designer, Victor Caliandro, suggested I invite Barbara to be the grand facilitator for our team. John Cuningham love the idea and she...

Barbara Lukermann was like a breath of fresh air when I began my graduate studied in Urban Planning at the U. At the time, the school was heavily weighted towards its policy program. Barbara kept the planning students under her wing and encouraged us to look at policy and planning as complementary. I don't think I would have had nearly as good an experience, or become the professional planner and lover of geography I am today, without her encouragement. She was also remarkable for her ability...

I worked with Barbara when she served on the Falcon Heights Planning Commission. Her knowledge of planning matters was vast, of course; what I also valued was her caring wisdom, and her ability to carefully weigh options and lead discussions while never discounting the opinions of those in opposition. A person generous with her time and talents; in every sense, Barbara was a civic leader. She will be greatly missed.

I am very sad that Barbara has died. When I saw her last summer, we had our usual lively, interesting discussion about her planning projects and about challenges facing the Twin Cities. I am shocked that she is dead so soon. I benefited greatly from Barbara’s friendship and knowledge. She welcomed me warmly to the Humphrey Institute when I joined the faculty there in 1980. We co-taught a workshop course where students assessed the border enterprise zone program for the state...

Barbara was my teacher, advisor and friend. I am so incredibly fortunate to have shared in her smiling optimism, gentle candor, and love of community. During an NPCR internship, I had subconsciously changed the title of the project I was assigned; a project which later became my thesis. Rather than challenge the decision, Barbara guided me through the arguments in favor of my suggested change and supported me in broadening the scope to meet the needs of the community. She served as an...