Obituary of Forrest Edgar Brown

Forrest Edgar Brown, Jr., 88, of Northfield, died Friday, December 2, 2016, with his family by his side at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Forrest was born August 2, 1928 in Princeton, Minnesota to Forrest Brown Sr. and Merl (Waterfield) and he graduated from Elk River High School in 1946. He graduated from Hamline University and earned Masters degrees in both History and Library Science from the University of Minnesota in 1954. On August 27, 1954, he was united in marriage to Virley (Bagley), his high school sweetheart, at the Orrock Lutheran Church in Orrock, Minnesota. This union also joined him as a member of her large and loving Norwegian-American Lutheran family. Forrest worked as an assistant librarian at Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin from 1954-1956, then as the library director at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, from 1956 until 1961. He and Virley then moved to Northfield, Minnesota, where he served as the Director of the St. Olaf College Library from 1961 until his retirement in 1991. During his time at St. Olaf, Forrest converted the library from a card catalog system to an automated system, expanded the collection of volumes by over two and a half times and the number of librarians and staff nearly doubled under his leadership. After his retirement, he was active in the Norwegian-American Historical Association as archivist and assisted researchers of every level. Forrest had a passion for reading, history, Norwegian-American genealogy, art, theater, music , travel, and spending time at the family cabin on the north shore of Lake Superior. He and Virley took part in numerous guided tours around the world led by St. Olaf professors. Forrest will be remembered for his passion for learning, his sharp wit, his quiet faith and most significantly, for his love for his family. He was a very humble man, except when it came to the accomplishments of his children. Forrest and Virley have four children and nine grandchildren, with a great grandchild on the way. He is survived by the love of his life, wife Virley, daughters Rosemary (John) and Priscilla (John), son Forrest III (Amy), daughter-in-law Lisa, and grandchildren Andrew (Sarah), Alec (Erica), Ian (Amy), Emily, Chan, Ming, Charlie, Libby and June. Forrest is preceded in death by son Robert, parents Forrest and Merl, and brother Robert. Forrest was a devoted member of the St. John’s Lutheran Church In Northfield. Memorial Service will be held at 1PM on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016 in Norris Square (community room), 8200 Hadley Avenue South, Cottage Grove, MN 55016. Pastor John Quam of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minnesota will be officiating. In lieu of flowers the family suggests that memorial gifts may be made to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund to support research for a cure for this disease that impacted Forrest as a caregiver for his wife.