Leslie "Les" Brogren of Pine City passed away Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at his home in Minneapolis at the age of 81.
Leslie Elmer Brogren was born January 3, 1937 to Anton and Astrid (Sandahl) Brogren in Chengwatana Township, Pine County, Minnesota.
Les grew up the youngest of six children. Born in Chengwatana, he spent his formative years on his family farm. Later in life, he would go on to try is hand at many things. Some of which included churning butter for Land O' Lakes and painting stoplight boxes for Atscott in Pine City.
Leslie was a kind and generous person. He was willing to give you the shirt off of his back even if that meant he would go shirtless. Leslie suffered great losses in his lifetime from the loss of a beloved son Mark as a young teenager; to the loss of his loving wife Velma he bore his share of pain. In later years, he would come to know physical pain as well suffering a broken ankle, knee and hip replacements in the hopes to ease the pain but he was never without his caring nature.
Leslie was known for his giving spirit. He served in the Army National Guard where he was called upon to search for missing persons and assist in natural disaster relief efforts. He gave more than 5 gallons of blood to the Red Cross and traveled to Haiti, Brazil, and Honduras on mission trips that included building wells for drinking water as well as building a school.
Leslie's daughter Joette recalls fondly the times as a child when her father would take her to church by himself on Sundays and they would stop for ice cream on the way home. He would whisper sweetly to them, "Don't tell your mom," as they quickly finished their cones.
Leslie never gave up on anyone and was sure that everyone was worthy of his love, attention, and kindness. He spent many hours ministering to those who found themselves residents of the Pine County Jail.
Leslie's true passion was nature. He earned a certificate as a master gardener and successfully completed many interesting projects including; raising rabbits, grafting an apricot branch onto an apple tree and maintaining grave sites at Union Cemetery where he also served on the board for some time.
Les is survived by his estranged spouse Peggy Brogren; daughter Joette Haggen of Minneapolis; son Myles (Dee Dee) Brogren of Chetek, Wisconsin; step-son Leroy Thibado of Pine City; grandchildren: MickeyJo, Joe, Josh, Laura, Keith, Carrie, Trevor, Derek, Tristan, Shaneese, Mike and Raven as well as many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his parents Anton and Astrid Brogren; son Mark Brogren; brothers Charlie Brogren and Harry Brogren; sisters Shirley Siebold, Violet Cornelius and Helen Cauwee.
Funeral services for Les: 11 AM; Saturday, September 29, 2018 at Hustletown Community Church, northeast of Pine City. A time of visitation and reviewal is planned for one hour prior to the service at the church. The interment will take place in Union Hustletown Cemetery, next to the church.
Memorials may be directed to the family however, because Les was a Master Gardener live plants are preferred to cut flowers.
Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the: Funeral and Cremation Service of Pine City ~ Swanson Chapel. www.FuneralAndCremationService.com