Virgil Adolph Brenden

 

Virgil Adolph Brenden was born 08 June, 1924 on the home farm in the Town of Coon, Westby (Vernon County) Wisconsin. He was the fifth of seven children born to Adolph Simon and Mathea (Solberg) Brenden. He attended Von Ruden School and graduated from Westby High School in 1941.

Virgil enrolled in La Crosse (WI) Teachers College) in 1941.  On 15 March, 1943, Virgil enlisted in the United States Army. After basic training, he received specialized training in dental services at City University of New York.  Virgil served in the United States Army for three years, including six months in the Philippine Islands.  He was released from military duty on 15 March, 1946, attaining the rank of sergeant.

Following his release from the Army, Virgil enrolled in the Marquette University School of Dentistry and graduated in 1950. He returned to Westby and opened his dental practice on August 14, 1950. Together with his good friends, Drs. P.T. Bland and Warren Otterson, Virgil built the Westby Clinic in 1961 and practiced dentistry there until his retirement in 1989.

Virgil loved the home farm. When he returned to Westby in 1950, he lived with his father Adolph, brother (Arthur) Stanley, and sister, Clarice and her children on the family farm next to Vang Church. Virgil purchased a house on Central Court in Westby on 15 March, 1960 and lived there with his sister Clarice and her children until his death.

In 1968, he purchased the home farm with his sisters, Clarice and Alverda. Together, they formed the Norse Haven Farm Partnership in 1990. Virgil loved to work with the young farm families who rented the farm and spent every week-end there, riding his four-wheeler, tending the garden, mowing the lawn, and caring for his beloved Holstein cattle.

Virgil is remembered as a kind and generous man with a wonderful sense of humor. He was devoted to his family, slow to anger, and quick to laugh. His patients, his friends, and his family looked to him as a man of integrity, honesty, and humility.  His legacy continues.