Thomas Robert Brandt

Thomas R. Brandt, 83, of Deerwood, MN, formerly of Northfield, MN, passed away on April 20, 2023 at Essentia Health--St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, MN. He was born on April 17, 1940 in Brainerd to Robert and Margaret (Cody) Brandt. When he was eight years old his family moved from Crosby to the family farm in the Northfield/Dundas area.

An avid athlete, Tom graduated from Northfield High School in 1958. He attended Mankato State College where he was a member of the baseball team. Because of his lack of speed, his teammates lovingly gave him the nickname, Wheels. He and several of his teammates remained lifelong friends.

Immediately after graduation, Tom was drafted into the Army. He served two years, one of those in Vietnam. On September 30, 1967 he married Ellen Driscoll in LeSueur. Tom was employed at Northfield Foundry & Machine Co. and later Sheldahl Flexible Technologies, Inc. until his retirement.

A good and loyal friend, Tom was fun to be with. Blessed with a good sense of humor and wit, he was especially talented at telling Ole and Lena jokes. When his sons were younger, he coached their youth baseball teams and later in life, he could be found in his favorite recliner watching and critiquing the Minnesota Twins. Wanting to share his profound thoughts with Twins management, he sent off a letter suggesting the team would win more games if the players were clean shaven. Unfortunately, the Twins never saw the wisdom in his advice.

When Tom wasn’t woodworking, reading a book or watching baseball, he could be found caring for the lawn. He prided himself in the fact very few people on earth mowed their lawn more frequently than he did. Over the years, he perfected the art of cutting the grass to resemble a baseball outfield pattern.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Rob; three brothers-in-law, Roger Roettger, Joe Driscoll and Kenny Dull.

Tom is survived by his wife, Ellen; children, Stephen of Columbia Heights, Thomas (Julie) of Bloomington, Greg of Northfield, Peter (Nicole) of Northfield; nine grandchildren, Mara, Becca, Amelia, Wyatt, Grace, Josie, Ayla, Ellie, Emma; sister, Judy Roettger of Florida; sister-in-law, Lois Brandt of Florida.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 27, 2023, at the Church of St. Dominic, 104 Linden Street North, Northfield. Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at Bierman Funeral Home, 1316 Division Street South, Northfield, and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Northfield.

For those unable to attend services in person, the Mass of Christian Burial will be livestreamed on the Church of St. Dominic website: https://churchofstdominic.org

A celebration of life service for Tom will be held in the Deerwood area at a later date.

Arrangements are with Bierman Funeral Home & Crematory. www.biermanfuneralhome.com

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