Obituary of Eugene Joseph Brandt

Eugene “Gene” Joseph Brandt, 90, of Woodbury, MN passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on February 29, 2024 at The Pillars in Oakdale. Gene is survived and will be greatly missed by his beloved family: four children, Terri Ferrise, Jean Williams (John), Doug (Vicki Gabler), and Steve; three granddaughters, Christina Alm (Noah), Danell (Eric Howard), and Paula Pallas; two great granddaughters, Addison and Avery Alm; sister Lucille Mealey; brothers-in-law, Milton Johnson and Donald Van Buskirk; nieces, nephews and their families. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lionel and Margaret (Jahnke) Brandt, his dear wife of 62 years, Dorothy, grandson Tony Ferrise, brother-in-law Jerry Mealey, and sisters-in-law, Doris Johnson and Pat Van Buskirk.

Gene was born in a farmhouse in Nye, WI on January 18, 1934. He attended school at Elm Grove, a one-room schoolhouse, for eight years before attending and graduating from Osceola High School where he was class president, valedictorian, and even played football when he finally bulked up to 135 pounds! He then attended the University of WI College of Agriculture, graduating in 1953.

In 1954, Gene joined the Army and served two years in Okinawa, Japan. Upon returning to Osceola, he realized that farming wasn’t going to be the career for him and took a job digging ditches for a plumbing company and as a laborer with a construction company before landing a job with Champion Aircraft for a princely wage of $1.50 an hour! This job was a great training ground for Gene, as the owner was a big believer in people getting to know as much as they could, so not only did he get to learn to build things with his hands, but it also allowed him to apply his brains to different tasks in the office. These were skills he got paid to learn and they were all crucial to his success later in his career.

In 1961, Gene’s best friend convinced him to go on a blind date with his girlfriend’s friend, Dorothy Johnson. They were a great match and they got married on January 13, 1962. In November of that year, their first daughter, Terri, was born. 

With his family started and another on the way, Gene found a job at Sterling Plastics in West St. Paul in 1964.  After several months of driving from their home in Osceola to West St. Paul every day, and after the birth of their second daughter, Jean, they moved to Landfall.  It wasn’t long before it was apparent that the mobile home they were living in wasn’t big enough and they began looking for a house.  When they couldn’t find one they liked, they decided to build one that would suit their needs.  In 1965, they bought a piece of land in Oakdale and Gene set about building his family’s home, completing it in 1966 shortly before the birth of their first son, Doug.  Their second son, Steve, in 1969 rounded out the family.

In 1972, Gene left Sterling and became general manager at Peerless Plastics, becoming a partner several years later.  In 1984, he bought his partner out and took the majority interest and brought on a partner for the minority interest.  The business flourished under his leadership and in 1995, he was awarded the business man of the year by the Farmington Chamber of Commerce.  One thing he always made an effort to do was to show to his employees how valued they were to him and that they were like family.  He would do his best to take a walk through the factory each day to greet everyone and see how things were going for them.  He also had a company picnic each summer and had several other parties throughout the year as a way to build comradery and make them feel special.

After 26 years, Gene retired and sold the business in 1998.  Retirement didn’t mean slowing down for him, though.  It just meant he could focus his time to other passions, like tending his gardens, playing golf, volunteering at church, cheering on his favorite teams:  the MN Twins, Vikings, and Golden Gophers, and spending time with his family, which now included grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

With Dorothy, he was able to travel and experience many different countries, like England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Wales, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Jamaica, Australia, Canada, Italy, and the Holy Land, not to mention just about every state in the US.

Dorothy suddenly passed away in 2013, but Gene continued getting together with his social groups, like his Panera coffee group, his bible study group, his Wednesday evening pizza group, and his Friday lunch group at Elsie’s.  He was active and still driving himself around up until the past couple of months.  And though his health was beginning to fail, he was still able to attend the 90^th birthday party his kids threw for him where he was able to greet and speak to the 60-some guests who attended.

The most important things in Gene’s life were his family, which he always made the effort to be there for—whether it was to give rides to and from somewhere, or to take in their performance in a concert, play, recital, or to cheer them on in a sporting event; his faith (he was a member of Transfiguration Catholic Church for over 60 years); and his friends.  He instilled in his kids these same values of faith, family, and the pride that comes from hard work and a job well done. 

His humor was well known and appreciated, too.  He was able to garnish many conversations with a quick one liner or a well told joke.  Sometimes, you wouldn’t know when it was coming and it would tickle you all the more.   Even in the last few weeks of his life, he was able to surprise us and amuse and delight the staff at The Pillars with a quip and a smile.

Gene’s family would like to thank the staff at The Pillars for their excellent care, dedication to Dad’s comfort, care, and compassion shown to him and the family.

Funeral Mass will be held on March 15th at Transfiguration Catholic Church, 6133 15^th St N., Oakdale, MN at 11 a.m. with visitation at 9 a.m. Memorials in Gene’s name can be made to Transfiguration Catholic Church, The Pillars, themmrf.org (multiple myeloma research fund), or wherever else you would like.