Arne Brekke, 90, of Grand Forks, N.D., passed away on June 25, 2018, at Altru Hospital after a brief illness.
Arne lived a long and full life. Born on a goat farm in rural Norway, the seventh of nine children, he came to America on scholarship to study at Luther College in Iowa. He married Beverly Boardman and continued his education, eventually earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. In the mid-1950’s he started leading tours to Norway to fund his trips to visit family back in Norway. In 1962, Arne moved his young family to Grand Forks, N.D., to teach Germanic languages at the University of North Dakota. Over the years, Arne was able to pursue both his academic career and start a successful niche travel agency helping Norwegian Americans find their roots in Norway. In recent years, he started a collection of books at the University of North Dakota Chester Fritz Library related to Norwegian genealogy and cultural history. It is the largest collection of “bygdeboks” in the world and is named after him. He was actively working in support of the book collection up to the time of his death. View a documentary about his work with the library at https://vimeo.com/29745327.
Arne was honored by the King of Norway in 1977 with the St. Olaf Medal in recognition of his work promoting good will and cultural ties between Norway and America. In 2011 he was named Major Benefactor of the Year by the North Dakota Library Association for his work in establishing the bygdebok collection.
One of his favorite passions was the study of word etymologies. He was an expert at Norwegian place names and his knowledge of several languages made him one of a few able to locate a family farm in Norway based on a surname.
Arne was an optimist who loved to talk and laugh. He loved his family, spending time at his lake home in northern Minnesota, and anything Norwegian. We will miss his zest for life and love for learning.
Arne is preceded in death by his son, Kristian Brekke. He is survived by his former wife of 32 years, Beverly Brekke-Bailey of Springfield, Ill., and their three daughters, sons-in-laws, and daughter-in-law: Dr. Karen (Brekke) Hoelzer of Springfield, Ill., Kirk and Karla (Brekke) Marchell of Houston, Texas, Kari Brekke and Gudjon Gudjonsson of Stoughton, Wis., and Veena Brekke of Madison, Wis. Arne was a proud grandfather of 11, and great-grandfather of six. He is also survived by two sisters and many nieces and nephews in Norway. He will be fondly remembered by his business partner, Char Brekke, and the employees of Brekke Tours. He considered them as his second family.
A Celebration of Life was held on July 2, 2018, at the Gorecki Alumni Center at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. The family requests that memorials be given to the Arne G. Brekke Bygdebok Collection in care of the UND Foundation, 3501 University Avenue, Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202. 701-777-2611.