Mildred J. (Lee) Brekke

Mildred Josephine (Lee) Brekke, 96, returned her spirit to her Lord who gave it, on Monday, May 21, 2012, at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton, Minn.

She was born April 10, 1916, in Chippewa Falls, Wis., the oldest daughter of Jenny (Hedrington) and Otto Lee. Mildred spent most of her childhood in the small town of Drummond, Wis. When pressed, she would tell stories of life during the depression. She often recounted that even during the height of the depression they wanted for nothing. Her father was the local butcher and worked for the "company store." On June 29, 1940, she married her childhood friend, Edwin. They moved to Superior, Wis., and finally settled in Esko, Minn., where they raised their three children. In 1966 she and Edwin moved to Kent, Wash., where she supported her husband in pursuit of his life-long dream of fishing and hunting in the Northwest outdoors. Mildred accompanied him on several trips including a fishing trip to Ketchikan, Alaska, and several camping trips around the Columbia River and the Pacific coast along Washington and Oregon. It was a big treat to go visit grandma and grandpa at their home in Kent and accompany them on fishing and camping trips. In 1989, they returned to Esko where they remained until 2007, when Edwin passed away. Grandma's heart was strong but she longed to be re-joined with her family. She passed away peacefully with her daughters and granddaughter by her side Monday afternoon at Inter-Faith Care Center where she had resided for the past three years.

Mildred always had an understated way of relating to people. She spent most of her life as a caregiver, both inside and outside the home, and she loved babies! She often commented how perfect strangers would tell her their life story. We like to think it was because she was generous, kind and always respectful. She accepted people as they were, not as she wished them to be. She had a terrific sense of humor, was a wily canasta player, could be amazingly stubborn, and had a laugh that was infectious. She was a terrific grandmother, mother, daughter, sister, wife and friend. She is loved and will be greatly missed.

Mildred was preceded in death by her husband, Edwin Brekke; her brothers and their wives, Nels (Jean) Lee and Otto "Buck" (Beverly) Lee; her brothers, Robert "Bob" and James "Jim" Lee; and her sisters and their husbands, Gladys (Roger) Fredericks, Norma ("Mack") McKinstry, and Irene (Al) DiMarco.

She is survived by her two sisters-in-law, Hazel (Bob) Lee and Janet (Jim) Lee; her three children and their spouses, Mary (Roger) Peil, Edwin "Bub" Brekke and Jill (Jim) Lavigne; and eight grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

A memorial gathering will be held from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. Saturday June 9, at the Drummond Civic Center in Drummond, Wis.

Messages of comfort and support can be sent to the family at 2972 28 7/16ths St., Birchwood, WI 54817.

In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation in tribute to Mildred to the Alzheimer's Association http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp.

June 7, 2012 ~ Pine Journal, Cloquet, Minn.

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