Tremeres remain committed to alma mater

Alumni Linda and Blair Tremere started their relationship of more than 50 years and counting on USD’s campus.

Finding love on campus

The Tremeres met in 1966 during Linda Tremere’s first year at USD, and started dating after attending a mutual friend’s wedding. They got married in the summer of 1968.

Linda Tremere said she was interested in Blair Tremere because he was “well-read.”

“He seemed knowledgeable on a lot of different things, which I found interesting, and that’s still the case,” she said.

Blair Tremere said he admired Linda Tremere’s involvement and determination.

“She was good-looking and hard-working,” he said. “What fascinated me was here was a person who had the brains and the personality that attracted me, and she’s put up with me all these years.”

The college experience

Blair Tremere got his bachelor’s in government and journalism in 1968. He earned a master’s in public administration in 1971.

Linda Tremere received her bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1970.

A speech camp during the summer of her senior year of high school led Linda Tremere to choose USD.

“I felt very comfortable on the campus,” she said. “It was an in-state school, and that was important to me. I just found that the faculty that we worked with were enjoyable, and it was just a great experience.”

While at USD, the Tremeres were involved in many organizations: Blair Tremere was an active member of The Volante and eventually became editor-in-chief, Linda Tremere was part of the Dakota Days Committee and both were involved in student politics.

Linda Tremere said volunteering during D-Days was a memorable time.

“I think it’s participating in events by being on committees and volunteering, finding out how to do those things is an important part of developing skills,” she said. “I can’t remember what I did for the committee, but it also put me in a position to meet lots of students and people.”

Post-graduation

Blair and Linda Tremere moved to Minneapolis, Minn. after Linda accepted a job at Price Waterhouse.

“I was the first professional woman staffperson in the Minneapolis office in 1970,” she said.

At the time, Blair Tremere was going through the draft process.

“I went into the army, and lo and behold, after I had been in there a few months, the war was ending and they didn’t need any more soldiers,” he said. “By February of ‘71, I was back in Minneapolis looking for a job.”

Blair Tremere was hired as assistant city manager. He remained in local government in the Twin Cities until the early 2000s. He was also the mayor of Golden Valley, Minn. in 1993.

Linda Tremere also worked as controller for Super Value’s food service department, corporate vice president in taxes at Hubbard Broadcasting and was president of an industry group called American Women in Radio and Television.

The Tremeres said skills they learned at USD led to their successful careers.

Linda Tremere said she “learned to believe in herself” after graduating from USD.

“When I was in the business school at a junior level, out of the 200 students in the business school at that time, I was one of four women,” she said “It was an environment that wasn’t necessarily friendly. It taught me to make up your own mind to what you think is right for you and do it.”

Giving back

Blair and Linda Tremere have committed to giving back to USD with scholarship endowments and other awards for faculty and students, most notably the Blair and Linda Tremere Faculty Service Award, which was established in 2011.

“It named faculty who, in addition to their faculty work, also find ways to contribute to the community by volunteering for different things,” Blair Tremere said. “We’re very happy about how it’s working out.”

The faculty is what Linda Tremere appreciates about USD, she said.

“I always felt that, and still do, that there are quality faculty,” she said. “Some of our endowments are trying to support providing some assistance in that area to make sure we maintain the standards of the faculty.”

Heading home

Now in the process of moving back to Sioux Falls, the Tremeres said they’re excited to be closer to USD.

“We didn’t make it down often enough, but we’re going to make up for that when we move to Sioux Falls,” Linda Tremere said.
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The Tremeres said though they don’t regret moving after graduation, they still miss South Dakota.

“We inevitably have had some conflicts with our jobs or some committment we made before, and it inevitably fell on Dakota Days weekend,” Blair Tremere said. “There was a time where we made it a point to come down to Vermillion and stay with friends during Dakota Days.”

Blair Tremere said he’s excited for their move.

“USD was a great place to get the start, and now it’s a great place to come back to,” he said. “We’re looking forward to being a little closer again and we’ll see what comes. We want to be South Dakotans again.”