Thanks for sharing Bills funeral. I remember Bill as a kind Christian at Ascension church. BIll and COokie worked hard for the church.  Our daughter Linda went to school with son Bill. COokie would be concerned about Linda crossing Jameson St. to go to school. MAny mornings COokie would be sure Linda was safe  crossing the street. THanks again. GOd bless you and your family.

I smile as everyone's memories bring to mind sweet pictures of Opa and I laughed out-loud when Jo mentioned him giving gibberish names to things.  He did that all the time and it was so endearing and something I never really even noticed because it was so normal for Opa.  I think I loved it best when you were playing a game with Opa and you made a move that caught him by surprise and he'd exclaim at you with one of his made-up words.  If someone beat him at a card game, he'd say, "He/She schneidered me!".  

I can hear him saying, as we headed out for a sail, "Chris, why don't you get yourself a soda to bring along?"  (I remember feeling so rich that I'd get to have a whole can of soda all to myself --and always a Pepsi product-never Coke).  And then once we were on the sailboat, his voice would boom out, "Get ready, we're gonna come about!" and I'd do my best to get out of the way quickly as the sail spun about.  Or, "Why don't you get down below."if the waters were choppy and he needed kids like me out of the way to maneuver the sailboat...he always made me feel important and special--even when I was little.  There was nothing quite like sailing with Opa; he seemed so capable and in control.

My favorite memories of Opa are of his love for Oma.  I loved watching the two of them interact. Their 69 year romance was so precious and fun to behold.  I remember them still flirting in their late 80s and I loved watching them play games together.  I remember they'd play Gin Rummy for money; 1/4 penny a point and kept a running tab back and forth...sometimes Opa owed Oma hundreds of bucks and sometimes it was vice versa...the funny thing was that the $$ they were playing for all came from the same pot since they shared everything;-).  I loved every chance I got to be with them.

Opa often closed out phone calls saying, "Go With the Lord!"  and now I'm so thankful that Opa has gotten to go be with His Lord and see Him face-to-face.   


"your move"...

Those are the words that come to mind when i think of my Grandfather. Not stern, but confident and with love and encouragement. I reached over and i picked up my chess piece and placed it on the board where i more then likely was using a strategy that he taught me. Then i waited patiently for him to have already anticipated my move!

Chess was always such a wonderful pastime that i had with Grandpa. I remember he had that really cool, electronic magnetic computerized chess set that you could push the piece in and then push it in again where you wanted your piece to go and the computer would record your move. It was such a humbling experience and a wonderful blessing that we could share a moment together and play one final chess game the last time that he went to the lake house.

Grandpa commanded respect and he deserved it too, for all that he did for the ones that he loved. His devotion to bringing up his family to know and respect God, and his love and compassion for all of his children, grand children, and great grandchildren has been invaluable.  

I remember so many times with him out in the sail boat, and out in the speedboat, and the times we went fishing together. All the bluegills we caught.  I remember all the fireworks that we shot off the dock on the 4th of July, and the train sets and and the card games and so much more.

Grandpa has always been a driving inspiration for me. I look up to him and i pray one day i can look back at my life and leave even a fraction of the legacy that he has left behind. I love you dearly Grandpa and i look forward to our next chess match in heaven. For now, i suppose your right...Its my move...


A final letter to you Grandpa,

Letters, the fundamental building block in our relationship. Writing letters to you and receiving them from you will always be one of my life's greatest joys  - it means that we set time aside specifically for one another - just you and me. I remember you calling me into your home office, "Miss Julie, come here for a minute..." I didn't know whether I was in trouble or if you wanted to show me a new model sailboat you had just built... (the decibel of your voice never veered too much so, it was always tricky to see where you were going before a conversation would begin) "I just want you to know how proud of you I am and how much I love you...", those words were and are everything to me. Grandpa, you're my hero, my inspiration - I hope to, one day, emulate even a fraction of the person that you were. I will hold your letters close and every time I read them I will hear your voice and it will bring me back to you and me. Until we can be together again, in Heaven, I will continue talking to the wind in hopes it will find its way to your ears. I love you, Grandpa, forever.

Love your granddaughter,

Julie 




Dearest Daddy, My Hero,  My Poppa Bear,
I have in my♥️ the tears you cried with me, both silently and aloud.
I have in my ♥️the laughter you taught me to laugh so that I would not take the world or myself too seriously.
I have in my ♥️ the sacrifices you made for me so that I might be happy.
I have in my ♥️the special conversations we had as we walked and talked together, our eat outs. During those times you taught me so much and granted me so much of your wisdom.
I have in my ♥️ the patience and understanding you showed me so that I could see through different eyes. 
I have in my ♥️ The courage you instilled in me to be myself and to soar with the wings you taught me to use.
I have in my ♥️ so many fun experiences  and  adventures we had together especially those times we went sailing. We would play like we were pirates. So fun and the time we capsized!
We really had quite an imagination and so much 
fun. Oh Daddy there are just so many gifts you have given me that are not store bought.  You raised me with good morals and values!  It is from you I get my adventurous spirit, my fearlessness, my boldness, my confidence, my strength, my drive for perfection, my soaring imagination, my gift and love for music and so much more all wrapped up in ♥️.
Oh Daddy there are just so many memories , too many to fit here.  
I ♥️ You so much my Daddy, My Poppa Bear, My Hero!  I miss you but I am filled with joy knowing that you are up there in Heaven out of your pain and misery walking side by side with Jesus, you are touching His face, and in His loving arms  you are embraced!
Oh and I can see you now sailing so alive and free on the most breathtaking waters , the bluest of seas.  
Daddy, I am looking forward to the time I can be once again sailing with you on those beautiful seas and enjoying the splendor of Eternity! I will see you again my sweet amazing Daddy!

All my ♥️,
Nancy, your cubby for all time!


Mr. Brauer gave me my very first “go to work” job at Brauer Supply. It was such a blessing to learn some basic office skills as a young teen. His daughter Gayle became my dear friend and the Brauer Family, Mrs Brauer and Gayle welcomed me into their lives and their family. 
I have been truly blessed through their love. 

Even though Grandpa had 20 grandchildren, he found ways to make us each feel special. In one of my earliest memories of him, he and Grandma are visiting our family in Ohio. Just before they’re ready to leave, Grandpa calls my older sister over and leans down to whisper something in her ear. She walks off smiling. He does the same for my brother. Finally, he calls me over, envelops me in his sweet-grandpa-cologne smell, hands me a tightly rolled up five dollar bill, and whispers that I can spend the money however I want, that he loves me, and that he’ll see me at the lake house in the summertime. It wasn’t about the money—it was the way Grandpa made his goodbye into this special one-on-one exchange with each of us, like we shared an important secret. I cherish that memory.

I cherish, too, our summers at the lake. I loved watching Grandpa wipe down his sailboat with extreme care (it was always spotless) while listening to his grainy 8-track tapes and humming along with all his favorite hymns and patriotic tunes. I loved how he was always down to game—any time, morning or night: Hearts, Boggle, Tripoley, Cribbage. I loved watching him tear it up on his jet ski like a teenaged boy. I loved how anytime my mom drove his speedboat, he always, always, without fail, complimented her on her boat parking skills. I loved his BBQ ribs, German Shepherd sweatshirts, model rockets, and war documentaries. 

A few other Grandpa quirks that will always make me smile: His penchant for finding the perfect gibberish word to convey an idea (e.g. “That hoopty-doo on the shelf”). The way he regularly commanded his legs into submission, as if they really did have minds of their own (“c’mon, legs!”). How his “prayer voice” was three notches deeper than his regular speaking voice. How he always referred to Grandma as “my bride.” 

I feel so sad that my baby son will never get to meet his Opa here on earth, but I look forward to the day when we are all together in heaven! Love you, Grandpa! 

I have so many memories of my sweet Grandpa.  The train track that he built and every time we blew that train whistle.  

Ribs.  Oh his ribs were amazing.  I was always his rib cooking sidekick.  I got the little grill and I always got to grill up the rib samples, as well as getting to put garlic powder on all the ribs EVERYTIME they were flipped.  Open Pit is still my barbecue sauce of choice.  

I made him a great grandpa.  My son Mazyn was the first great grandchild to be born. 

Sailing.  I was not the biggest fan of sailing, but now that we cant do it anymore...boy do I cherish those memories.  Especially when grandpa let me steer the boat!

The cabin and The Wharf.  I loved when grandpa would drive us in his speedboat and we would all eat lunch or dinner at The Wharf.  Minnesota will not be the same without my grandpa.  

There are just too many things to include on here.  My grandpa was an amazing man.  An amazing grandpa.  And an amazing great grandpa.  I will love you always grandpa and I am excited knowing that I will see you again.  But for now, I miss you so much!   

I love you Opa. I am sad that you are leaving us, but I rejoice to know that you are at peace with our Lord in heaven.  I think of you whenever I see a sail boat or catch the sent of BBQ ribs. Those memories will stay with me, and I am greatful to have you as my Opa. 

Sailboats. Trains. Computer card games. That particular grandfather smell. I spent last night exploring my memories of the house on Westway. While the old clock downstairs in the dark foyer chimed out Old Big Ben, I climbed the (what to me seemed huge) carpeted stairs--covered as it sometimes was in grandma's "grabber" machine earnings. Turning left, I passed the guest bedroom, the one with the picture of grandma and grandpa standing between two geishas in Japan sitting on the dresser. For years, I stared at that picture thinking how well-traveled my grandparents were. Onto grandpa's office with its huge roll-top desk concealing a million important documents, his shelves covered in pictures of his 20 grandchildren (were there 20 yet?): there I am. Grandpa kept a collage sort of frame with pictures of the two of us. The one I liked the least was the picture of me on his sailboat boasting a huge giant life jacket. The one I like the best is us playing video games--and by us, I mean him. I stood by as "the good luck charm" while he battled on at golf. Still, I loved it. I loved him. I always will. 

I am so grateful to have known grandpa not only as a child but as an adult. Most of us do not have this privilege. Thank you grandpa for showing up at every important event, making every summer memorable (who will build and shoot rockets with me?), and loving our family so incredibly well. 

I remember all of the games I used to play with grandpa: cribbage, hearts, gin, rummy, and chess. He was a fierce competitor, but played it cool on the surface...because he would never lose. He’d always have the right cards at the right time, like it was magic. I thought I could beat him at chess one day (after practicing for years). He made moves I was not accustomed to seeing, and it wasn’t long until I realized the game was over. As an inside joke, he and grandma would play gin for money. I think she owed him thousands from losing so much. 

As I think back on the games we played, I can’t recall a time where I won. This isn’t a “passing of the torch” narrative where I eventually beat him. Grandpa was a supremely talented gamer and still holds the crown. We played rummy over last Christmas (just 3 months ago). He was foggy about names, places, and times. But he absolutely scorched me at rummy. 

Grandpa’s competitive spirit and skill exposed my self-entitlement. Through games, grandpa taught me that it is better to be good than to be lucky. There are rules. If you get good at playing the game, you’ll win. 

It was Christmas vacation 1966. I was home in uniform from the U S Naval Academy on leave contemplating which academic major to pursue. Uncle Bill took me to lunch at the Missouri Athletic Club and showed me his hygrometer to test his martini. Since I was in my Officer’s Navy Uniform and close enough to 21- he ordered one for me as well.
We spent an hour at least discussing my options. Since I was one of those who felt , and still do, that everything is a math problem, and organized to a fault,he suggested I choose Operations Research- a new field back then. 
I did major in that and math, and to this day think of my dear Uncle Bill at least weekly, as I plow through life still trying to organize this chaotic world. 

RIP UNCLE BILL

i miss you Papa.  You taught me how to love, forgive, and laugh.  You gave me my competitive spirit .   You took time to be a Dad and always had my back.  You will always be with me, in my heart.  See you in heaven.

Timothy Evangelical Lutheran Church 

Concordia Seminary

Family Shield Ministries 

Our Savior's Lutheran Church 

Beloved husband of Cookie (nee Wanda Koch). Loving father of Gayle (Jim), Bill (Jackie), Nancy (Terry), Diane (Timothy) and Bob (Melanie). He was also cherished by 20 grandchildren and 30 great grandchildren.

OBITUARY

William H. Brauer

April 13, 1926 – March 29, 2020

Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary

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