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Volume 31, Number 3 |
Richardton, ND 58652 |
July 2003 |
Brother Llewellyn Kouba
Observes Silver Anniversary of Profession
by Terrence Kardong, O.S.B.
On July 11, 1978, Bro. Llewellyn Kouba pronounced his simple vows before Abbot Robert
West. He is, therefore, celebrating his 25th anniversary this year. When Llewellyn
made his novitiate in 1977-
Bro. Llewellyn grew up on a farm near Regent, ND, the son of Charles and Helen Kouba. He did his early schooling in his hometown, with graduation from high school occurring in 1970. It seems that one of the characteristics of the men who have joined Assumption Abbey since the closing of the school is precisely a sensitivity to visual beauty. In his quarter century of monastic life, Bro. Llewellyn has contributed as much as anyone ever has to the beautification of this place.
Anyone who has seen the Kouba farm knows where Bro. Llewellyn gets his gift for decorative gardening. He has carried this skill over to the monastery. Over the years his plants have graced many areas, but his current concentrations seem to be the dining room and a new garden just east of the Abbey Pottery. Bro. Llewellyn's artistic efforts have not been limited to pottery alone. Over the years he has done a good deal of watercolor and acrylic painting; in the past few years he has branched out into the fields of rug hooking and icon writing.
Since 1995, pottery has been a major focus of his professional activity. Like the
founder of the Abbey Pottery, Fr. Basil Atwell, Llewellyn was trained by Sr. Denis
Frandrup, O.S.B., at St. Benedict's College, St. Joseph, MN. During his apprentice
year, he lived at next-
