Our Founder
Bill van Druten founded Lake Superior Freethinkers in 1997 in response to a move that would have allowed the Roman Catholic Church to monopolize Duluth hospitals. He immediately established an affiliation with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. In 2000, he and group leaders had an audience with the Governor of Minnesota to present their concerns. In 2002, he raised objections to the Boy Scouts’ statement about its “duty to God” and eventually renounced his Eagle Scout status. He gained local infamy (and at least one death threat) in 2005 for getting a Ten Commandments monument removed from City Hall and placed on private property.
Chair
Tom Patten is the founder of Professional Assisted Living Software (PALs) which allows social workers to handle their required paperwork while focusing more of their time on helping others. He has a master’s degree in social work (MSW) from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Vice-Chair
David Cole moved to Duluth after teaching philosophy in Delaware and helping Rep. Hank Brown (R-Colo.) as a congressional aide working on railroad deregulation. Dave’s doctorate is from the University of California at San Diego. He was chair of the philosophy department at UMD, co-edited the textbook Philosophy, Mind, and Cognitive Inquiry, and has written about everything from artificial intelligence to the ethics of “killing” zombies.
Treasurer
Charles Gessert, MD, MPH was a Senior Research Scientist in the Essentia Institute of Rural Health until retiring in 2013. He investigated end-of-life decision-making, the use of feeding tubes in advanced dementia, and understanding the normal lifespan. He is currently active in teaching, local community action, and advocacy for health care reform, along with taking care of all our finances.
Secretary
Don Fraser attended both the University of Minnesota Duluth and the State University of Minnesota at Moorhead studying Art, History, and Graphic Design, After serving in the 7th Fleet of the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Intrepid, he spent two decades as Senior Graphic Designer with Advanstar Communications in the Duluth area. He is a freelance graphic artist who produces our popular newsletter along with keeping all of our official records in order.
Social Director
Sue Anderson was married to a Weather Service worker at age 17. She raised four children and looked after their house at Sunset Lake until 2009 – twenty years after his death. Then she moved to downtown Duluth. Today, she is a very active socialite seen at concerts and performances around town. She arranges and hosts our third Wednesday dinner socials at rotating locations throughout the area each month.
Webmaster
Jim Lyttle, during his time in leadership, had the phrase “Jesus, I Trust in You!” removed from a Duluth Transit Authority bus. He is a transplanted Canadian raising a teenage daughter, completing a master’s degree in education (M.Ed.) at the Duluth campus, and working toward a certificate in Talent Development and Gifted Education at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. He looks after this website and our Email communications.
LAKE SUPERIOR FREETHINKERS 