Roger BREKKE

BREKKE, SAMPSON, GREIMAN, ANDERSON, SWEET, BURKARD, VANDEGRIFT, PRIEBE, MOON, STEPHENS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/16/2017 at 20:11:49

May 12, 1935 ---- December 30, 2016

Roger Brekke, 81, of Mason City, died Friday, December 30, 2016, at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, January 5, 2017, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 213 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Mason City. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City. Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 4, 2017, at Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 3rd St. NE, Mason City. Family suggests memorial contributions to KCMR Radio Station in Mason City or Hospice of North Iowa.

Roger was the second oldest child of seven children born to Amos and Esther (Sampson) Brekke in Roland, IA, on his grandma and grandpa’s farm on May 12, 1935. He started first grade at Zearing, IA before moving to a farm south of Clear Lake, where he lived for nine years. His family then moved to Garner, and eventually to Klemme, where Roger continued to help his dad and mom farm. During this farm time, he also worked part-time for the Department of Transportation, mowing highways in the summer and removing snow in the winter for three years.

Roger loved showing cattle at the open steer shows. He helped Don and Cliff Greiman as a herdsman at the Iowa State Fair and Minnesota State Fair. He helped Burt Greiman show Belgium horses at the Iowa State Fair as well. Later he showed cattle at the Denver and Ft. Worth Stock Shows, culminating in showing his own steer in 1969 at Ft. Worth, TX with his brother-in-law, Robert Anderson of Garner.

Roger enjoyed going to the Surf Ballroom and the ballroom in Ft. Dodge, where he met Gloria Sweet from Manson, IA, in a circle two. The circle two was popular at that time, where the men went in one circle and the women went in another circle around the men. When the music stopped playing, you had to dance with the person you stopped by. Gloria said, “I asked God to bring me the one he wanted for me, and he sure did!”

On December 28, 1969, the two were married at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Manson, IA, and had two children, Charlotte (Brekke) Burkard of Bainbridge Island, WA and Levi Brekke of Denver, CO. Roger continued farming with his parents in Klemme.

In 1981, Roger graduated from World Wide College of Auctioneering and helped Col. Gordon Taylor and several other auctioneers over the next several years, while continuing to farm. At age 65, Roger retired from farming in 1999, and he and Gloria moved to Mason City. In November 2000, Roger earned his GED high school diploma from North Iowa Area Community College. He then became a volunteer for Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa for a year or more, off and on. From there, he became an employee of Building Services at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa for the next few years working on a p.r.n. basis as a custodian. During this time, he still helped with auctions. He also helped Don Weiland plant and harvest crops in the spring and fall for a few years.

Roger enjoyed the challenge of trapping and had often thought of living in Alaska or the Yukon Territory. He enjoyed ice skating, bowling, reading, and walking. One hobby that really stood out was billiards, which was a game played on a table without pockets and three balls; one read and two white, one of which had a black spot on it. As he put it, it was the King of all pool tables, and he was an “A+ student.” The game was played making five caroms, five one railers, five two railers, five three railers, and five banks, totaling 25 shots. The first one to make 25 shots won the game. Roger said it took putting English on the ball to make the shots.

Roger enjoyed visiting his family located out West, which included going on vacations with them to places such as Alaska, British Columbia, Jackson Hole, Santa Fe, and others.

Roger is survived by his wife, Gloria of Mason City; two children, Charlotte (Trent) Burkard of Bainbridge Island, WA and Levi (Lonnie VanDegrift) Brekke of Denver, CO; three grandchildren, McKenzie, Marcella, and Logan; and five siblings, Karen (Carroll) Priebe of Klemme, Darlene Stephens of Clear Lake, Sheryl (Bob) Anderson of Garner, Mark Brekke of Florida, and Mary (Ron) Moon of Urbandale, IA. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, David.

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