- Date Of Death: December 22, 2020
- State: Minnesota
John Lewis Brandt, 92, Longtime Hibbing Resident, WWII Veteran, Mining Engineer, and Musician
John Brandt passed away peacefully with his loving wife Betty Mae by his side on December 22, 2020 at the Keystone Place Retirement Community in Hugo, MN. He died of natural causes. John was born and raised in Eveleth, MN, where he met Betty and they were married on the 8th of June in 1957.
John is survived by his wife: Betty; his two siblings: Robert (Rocky River, OH) and Charles (Genoa, NV); his five children: David (Yoshie; Atlanta, GA), Cindy (Hibbing), Robert (Lesa; Mahtomedi), Paul (Nancy; Mendham, NJ), and Eric (Lisa; Mendota Heights); and nine grandchildren: Justin and Jeremy Brandt, Allison and Madeline Brandt, Erik, Christian, and Stefan Kildal-Brandt, and Isabel and Erika Brandt. John is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
John attended school in Eveleth, where he graduated as valedictorian of his class. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army; he served in the Pacific Theater from 1946 to 1948, when he was honorably discharged. During his time in the Army, John was proud to play in General Douglas MacArthur’s Ceremonial Band. John attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with degrees in Business and Geology, and then enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he served as a Second Lieutenant until his honorable discharge, and he worked for over 30 years as an engineer in the Minnesota DNR Minerals Division. He worked as a mining engineer for multiple private mining companies around the U.S. prior to joining the DNR.
John was an avid musician throughout his life. He sang in community choirs and in the First Lutheran Church choir, as well as being a member of the Hibbing City Band for over 50 years, where he enjoyed playing in the summer concert series and marching in local parades. He also played the viola in the Mesabi Community Orchestra. John advocated for and helped in the rebuilding of the organs at Hibbing High School and at First Lutheran Church, and was a faithful supporter of the regional Organs in Revue Programs.
John relished the outdoors, where he would explore the geology and hunt for rocks around the Superior Basin, and would design and build additions and structures at his lake cabin. John participated in many community organizations, including Sons of Norway, the American Legion, and the Republican Party, where he was a delegate to the Minnesota state convention on multiple occasions. John enjoyed playing Contract Bridge where his aggressive bidding often surprised his sons and left them in awe.
Perhaps the trombone brought John the greatest musical joy; there are tales of John taking his trombone on canoe trips in Northeastern MN, where he would portage his trombone from lake-to-lake and entertain the wildlife with trombone serenades by the campfire. May God smile upon John and the heavens resound with John’s playing of Trombones Triumphant.
