Daniel R. Brockton

   Daniel R. Brockton, 81, of Longville, MN was born May 16, 1940 in Northfield, MN to Elroy and Maxine Brockton. He left us on November 5, 2021 in hospice care at Northern Lakes Senior Living in Baxter, MN. He was diagnosed at Mayo with a rare kidney cancer almost 4 years ago and was treated by CRMC Oncology in Crosby.

   Dan Grew up mainly in the Northfield-Dundas area and graduated from Northfield HS in 1959. He married his HS sweetheart Pat Klingbile in 1959. He then attended the UofM before transferring to St. Olaf College, graduating in 1964 with a BA in English education. He wrestled in both high school and college and won several awards. He also worked full and part time at the Northfield Farm Service.

   He began teaching at Morris and Princeton. Then earned a certification to be a librarian and a-v coordinator; Litchfield was his first job in that area. In 1969, after his wife graduated from St. Cloud State, both were hired in the Sartell, MN school district and spent the rest of their careers there. Dan also coached wrestling at Morris, Princeton and Sartell for a number of years. He went through expansion programs developing libraries for two new buildings; he also helped develop and supervise computer labs, then a new concept. Early traveling included fishing and canoeing trips to northern MN and the Canadian wilderness and a road trip to the west coast.

   The couple both retired in 1997 and moved to their lake home on Long Lake in Longville where they had been working on their future retirement home since 1981. They learned a lot about construction and basically did everything except the well and septic system. The first few years at the lake were spent finishing the house, landscaping, building a workshop and two garages. Dan didn’t keep busy enough so worked part-time a few years at Arrowhead Lumber. In the couple’s spare time they did volunteer driving taking seniors to errands and medical appointments. They also helped neighbors and friends with building projects including a complete cabin. 

   Dan and Pat loved to travel and after buying a small camper started going south in the winters - starting at a few weeks in 2001 and ending with 3-plus months each year. The campers and tow vehicles got bigger as the years went on. The couple also enjoyed several western trips and MN State Park trips in warmer seasons. Longer trips were made to the East Coast and provinces in Canada. An almost yearly excursion favorite was Teddy Roosevelt NP in ND. Campers were sold after his diagnosis and he settled in for winters at home. His computers and the thousands of photos he took kept him quite busy until he went into the hospital. His specialties were wildlife, flowers and scenery. The couple also enjoyed visiting and photographing historical sites on their travels.

   Dan was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather Willis Wolf, a sister Ida Brustad, brothers-in-law Joel Stenhaug, Ralph Holbrook and Lynn King, a nephew Tracy Lundstrom and niece Shelby Lundstrom. He is survived by his wife Patricia (Longville), son Andrew (& Christine of Minneapolis), son Scott (& Nina of Lake Elmo), daughter Jo Franta (& John of Andover), five grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and a great-grand-daughter, sisters Bernice Stenhaug (Northfield) and Marianne King (Breezy Point), a step-brother Ed Wolf (Faribault) and several nieces and nephews. Per Daniel’s wishes there will be no funeral. The family may plan a get-together in the spring. Arrangements were by Kline Funeral Home in Pine River, MN. Memorials may be made to Parks & Trails Council of MN, Longville Area Food Shelf, the Minnesota Historical Society or Cancer Research at Mayo Clinic.