Brighton, George W. (1924-2009)
BRIGHTON, BAKER, JOHNSEN, HILL, BREBNER, WANGEN, NEDVED
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 12/19/2014 at 14:27:50
George W. Brighton
February 21, 1924 - April 28, 2009Reverend George W. Brighton, age 85, of Newell, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, April 28, 2009, at the Newell Good Samaritan Center.
George Wayne Brighton was born on February 22, 1924, in rural Leland, Iowa, a son of James and Rose (Baker) Brighton. When he was seven years old, his mother died, and when he was ten years old, his father died. He was, then, raised by his brother, Stanley, and his wife, Phoebe. He attended one semester of college at Waldorf College in Forest City after graduating from Leland High School in 1942. In 1944, he volunteered for the Army and was sent to northern Germany as an infantryman during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1946, George traveled around Europe for eight months. During that time, he, also, attended Cambridge University in England for one term before returning home to matriculate at Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois, for two years. In 1950, he graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and then, from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, in 1952.
George was, then, ordained as a United Methodist Minister and joined the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church. During his thirty-five years of ministry, he served congregations in Royal, Moneta, Everly, Varina, Albert City, Thornton, South Marion (rural Stratford), Stanhope, Kamrar, Klemme, Liberty (rural Klemme), Lake View, Wall Lake, Graettinger, Livermore, and LuVerne. After he retired in 1987, he continued to serve as a fill-in minister for area churches, having a special relationship with the Varina Methodist Church.
George married Norma Johnsen on April 20, 1958. Subsequently, they had three children, David, Marcia, and Mark. After George retired, they moved to Newell, Norma’s hometown. An avid gardener, he, also, loved home improvement projects and occasionally kept chickens for the fun of it. During his lifetime, he published two autobiographical books, Growing Up in Winnebago County and Tales of War.
George was preceded in death by his parents, his stepmother, Grace Hill, nine brothers, James, Stanley, Willis, Thomas, Chester, Ralph, Melvin, and two others, Albert and John, who died as children, and two sisters, Alberta and Kathleen.
He is survived by his wife, Norma; his children, David and Becky Brighton, of Fort Dodge, Marcia Brighton and Jeff Brebner of Newell, and Mark and Amy Brighton, of Hinton; his six grandchildren, Kolin Brighton, of Cedar Rapids, Valerea Brebner, of Fort Dodge, Katie Brighton, of Cedar Rapids, Zachary Brebner, of Newell, and Laura and Kyle Brighton, of Hinton; and two sisters, Marjorie Wangen, of Hayward, Minnesota, and Beverly Nedved, of Mason City; as well as by many nieces and nephews.
Services for Reverend Brighton will be held on Friday, May 1, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Newell. Burial will be in the Newell Cemetery. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Newell is in charge of the arrangements. Friends may call from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, 2009, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Newell where the family will be present from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m..
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