Carol M. (Blakeslee) Brielmaier

Carol Margaret (Blakeslee) Brielmaier entered the Lord’s warm embrace on March 7, 2017, at 7:30 am. 

A Private Family service will be held.  Interment will be in Glenwood Cemetery, Mankato.  Northview – North Mankato Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. www.mankatomortuary.com

Our family would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Oak Terrace-Mankato community and staff as well as the Mayo Clinic Health System (MCHS) Hospice staff and volunteers for making her journey one of compassion and joy!

Carol was born on June 7, 1932, to Carlyn Perry “CP” “Blake” and Elsie (Petterson) Blakeslee in Mankato, MN, the youngest of three daughters.  Carol graduated from Mankato High School in 1950, and embracing her parent’s love of education, attended Mankato State University and University of Minnesota.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education in 1954.  She taught 1st and 2nd grade in Mound and Hopkins school districts. 

On September 3, 1955, Carol married William Brielmaier, and together, they moved back to Mankato to raise their family.  She was blessed with three sons, Mark (Michele) of Lake Crystal, MN, Paul of Mankato, MN, and Tom of North Mankato, MN. She raised her boys as part of the exclusive Mom’s Club of Duke’s Addition within the view of Tourtellotte Park and Good Counsel Hill. 

Carol found time to substitute-teach and fund raise for Mankato Area Catholic School, participate in the Women’s Guild of Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, occupy a spot on the Mankato Charter Commission and keep her boys from hurting each other.

In 1980, Carol and Bill established Broombriar Patch, their new home within the “Garden of the God’s,” north of Mankato.  In this new phase of her life, she stayed active by taming the property and her mind with the rekindling of her love for teaching; she taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to newcomers to the Mankato area. 

Carol had a great passion for music and art and consistently found time to practice her love for paint and pencil.  She entered local and state events and loved to travel to art classes and seminars.  Her lessons had her traveling outside Mankato almost every year, going anywhere from Phoenix, AZ to Door County, WI.  When asked how she felt about her work, she would simply reply, “Some is good and some not so good, but the opinion is in the eye of the beholder.”

Carol co-wrote a book on her maternal family’s immigration to Door County, WI and their establishment of a Moravian Church.  The book is titled, “The Door County Letters of Anna and Anders Petterson”.  She had great pride in her heritage.

Carol and Bill separated in 1998, but she never lost her love for family.  She enjoyed her independence and time with her sisters, Phyllis Baldwin of Portland, OR and Mary Lou McKusick of North Branch, MN.  Her two sisters, her three sons, and her four grandchildren: Ben of Bothell, WA, Bret of Brooklyn, NY, John of Fargo, ND, and Anna of North Mankato, MN, all survive Carol. 

A big thank you to her friends for helping Carol be who she was.  She proudly lived her values: laugh often, smile much, and love always. Carol asked for no acknowledgments but rather, memorials for the living.  Her choices for memorials: Mankato Area Adult Basic Education, Mankato Area Arts Council, and MCHS Hospice.