Milwaukee School of Engineering is mourning the loss of Rev. Pamela Viets who passed away July 6, 2023. Viets was a member of the MSOE Board of Regents and wife of the late Dr. Hermann Viets, MSOE President Emeritus. 

Viets was a steadfast supporter of MSOE and its students throughout her husband’s career and beyond. She graciously expanded the role of president’s wife to that of a partner. She frequently opened the family home for entertaining students, Regents, MSOE visitors and other community leaders and traveled around the country with President Viets visiting alumni and other MSOE friends. In the 1990s she established an MSOE Regents’ Spouses Program: a series of quarterly events to engage Regents’ spouses and introduce them to MSOE, one another and local businesses. Additionally, Viets was involved in many Milwaukee-area organizations including the East Town Association, helping to improve the community surrounding MSOE’s campus.

Pamela and Hermann Viets Athletic Field was named in honor of her and President Viets’ work at the university to create a well-rounded first-class education and experience for students. 

Viets held a Bachelor of Science in Education from St. John’s University in Queens, New York. Later in life she studied to become an ordained minister and earned a Master of Divinity from the Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas. Most recently, she served as the interim pulpit and pastoral support at St. Jacobi Congregational Church in Richfield, Wisconsin. 

Viets is survived by her children Deane (Isabella), Hans (Lauren), Danielle (Michael) Leighton, Hillary (Andy) Bowser, and several grandchildren.

Arrangements are pending.