Roland G. Bromberg
Help us celebrate Roland! Please share your stories and photos, and invite others who remember Roland.
Roland Bromberg, age 88, of Northfield, MN, formerly of Cloquet, MN, passed away Wednesday, December 22, 2021, at Benedictine Living Community in Northfield.
Roland was born September 4, 1933, the son of Olof and Emma (Knuti) Bromberg on the family farm in Aurora, Minnesota. His father worked for Red Owl and the family moved throughout Northern Minnesota before settling in Fergus Falls. In 1951, Roland graduated from Fergus Falls High School where he was a standout athlete, lettering in football, basketball, track, and was named football captain and awarded Most Valuable Player. He then attended Bemidji State University where he received his bachelor's degree in physical education and a minor in biology in 1955. At BSU, he played football, basketball, track, and baseball. Again, he was named captain of the football team and earned the Koefod Memorial Award as the highest scholastic athlete. Most importantly, he met his future wife at Bemidji State, Ilene Johnson. Following Bemidji State, Roland furthered his studies at the University of Illinois where he received his master's degree and the couple had their first daughter, Patty.
The family moved to Reading, Michigan where Roland taught Phy Ed and biology. He was also the head football coach as well as head track and assistant basketball coach. There a second daughter, Jane, was born. In 1958, an opportunity came to move to Cloquet where Roland continued teaching Phy Ed and coached football, wrestling, track and served as athletic director. It was there they completed their family with a son, Mike.
Roland received many awards recognizing his many years as a successful coach and educator. He was named All Tri-State coach of the year, head coach of the North All Stars during the Minnesota High School All Star Football Game, named to the Minnesota State Coaches Association for 25 years of coaching, Region 7AA Athletic Director of the year, and was selected into the Fergus Falls, Bemidji State University, and Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Fame. When Roland wasn't coaching, he refereed many regular basketball games, along with regional finals and state tournament games which he enjoyed. He was also the director of the Red Cross swim program.
Roland was active in the Cloquet community as well. He served in the Kiwanis Club, for United Way, Cloquet Co-op Credit Union Scholarship Committee, and he was also on the Cloquet Journal advisory board. Roland was active in Zion Lutheran Church where he was a member and served three terms on the church council. In between all this, Roland and Ilene enjoyed spending time with his family at his sister's cabin on Chub Lake. In their later years, they wintered in Mesa and looked forward to getting together with a group of other Midwesterners. In 2020, the couple moved to the Benedictine Living Community in Northfield. Sadly, Ilene passed away in November 2020.
Roland is survived his children Patty (Mark) Shaw of Northfield, Jane Wichmann of Sioux Falls, and Mike of Richfield; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren (and one on the way); a brother Steven (Janet) of Monticello; and a sister Helen of Golden Valley. He was preceded in death by his wife Ilene (2020) and his parents.
Funeral services will be at Zion Lutheran Church in Cloquet on Thursday, January 20, 2022, beginning at 11:00 AM. Visitation will be at Nelson Funeral Care, 1004 Cloquet Ave, Cloquet, on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM and one hour prior to the service in the church. Memorials are preferred to the Cloquet Education Foundation, 302 14th Street, Cloquet, MN 55720, or to Zion Lutheran Church 1000 Washington Ave, Cloquet, MN 55720.
Arrangements by Bierman Funeral Home and Crematory, Northfield, biermanfuneralhome.com and Nelson Funeral Care, Cloquet, nelsonfuneralcare.net.