Steven J. Braun

Steven John Braun, age 78, of Mankato, passed away on November 23, 2022, at Bridgewater Memory Care in Janesville, MN, from a traumatic brain injury on February 4, 2019, which led to dementia.

A Celebration of Steve’s Life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 5, 2022, at Northview – North Mankato Mortuary, 2060 Commerce Drive, North Mankato.  Visitation will be one hour before the service.  Private family interment will be in Woodland Hills Memorial Park, Mankato.  Memorials may be given to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Mankato or Mayo Hospice – Mankato.

Steve’s service will be livestreamed and available on Steve’s obituary page at www.mankatomortuary.com

Steven was born December 9, 1943, in Mankato, MN to Joseph and Selma (Jacobson) Braun.  He graduated from Mankato West High School in 1962.  He attended Minnesota State University – Mankato, graduating with a Master’s degree in Biology.  After graduating, he taught for several years at the college and also worked summers at Mankato West High School preparing softball fields, football fields, and working the grounds at several schools.  He married Nancy L. Gag on November 6, 1992.  He chose this date because it would have been his mother and father’s 50^th wedding anniversary.  Later, he decided to slow down and started working at Mankato West High School as a night custodian until his retirement on December 1, 2017.

Steve enjoyed listening to most kinds of music, but his favorite was the older Jazz music.  He also enjoyed reading books and photography.  He was a member of the Blue Earth County Historical Society and Stereoscopic Society which involved taking 3-D pictures.  He also taught himself Calligraphy, which was a treasured accomplishment.  In the past, he was a member of the Colleagues of Calligraphy MN.

He loved reminiscing about their family trips to Evergreen Lodge in northern Minnesota when they were young.  He and Nancy also took numerous trips to Branson, MO with his sister, Noreen, and the Precious Moments Chapel, where he proposed to his wife.  The last few years, he and Nancy enjoyed their trips to Duluth, MN, staying in Canal Park and visiting Split Rock Lighthouse.

Steve is survived by his wife, Nancy; his sister and brother-in-law, Noreen and Loren Roberts of Mankato; his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Marvin and Myrna Gag of North Mankato, Larry and Irene Gag, Mary J. (Gag) Doring and Patty K. (Gag) Blair all of Mankato, and Janice Dempsey of Garner, IA; nieces, Lori (Jason) Pietsch, Heidi Poole, Kristen Pederson, and Suzie (Jared) Ziemke; nephews, Daniel Gag and Craig (Mandi) Doring; great-nephew, Justin Pietsch and great-niece, Kiersten Pietsch.

Steve was preceded in death by his parents; his parents-in-law, Norbert and Ruth Gag; his brother, Ronald Dempsey; his nephew, Jeffrey L. Roberts; brothers-in-law, Gerald F. Doring and Steven E. Blair; aunts and uncles.

Steve’s family would like to thank the care team of Mayo Hospice – Mankato and the staff of Bridgewater of Janesville for taking care of Steve during these last few weeks.

The live stream link below is a complimentary service provided by

Mankato Area Funeral Homes.

Unforeseen technical, internet, facility, and/or acoustical circumstances may produce a diminished end product. Please note, if the live stream does not appear, we are attempting to record and publish the service for later viewing.