Brenda Vrchota

A Celebration of Life Service for Brenda Vrchota, age 54, of Sisseton, South Dakota will be held Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Britton, South Dakota with Rev. Terrill Sorensen officiating. Urn bearers will be Jerry and Brendas grandchildren: Aidan, Keegan, Andreaya, George, and nieces: Bridget and Chelsea. Honorary Urn bearers will be Brendas friends and family. Organist will be Lona Batie. Visitation will be held Wednesday evening from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at First Lutheran Church in Britton. A private family inurnment will take place at a later date. Brenda Schramm was born on April 11, 1958 in Saint Cloud, Minnesota to Alvin and Bernice (Freudenberg) Schramm. She grew up in Fridley and Blaine, Minnesota. She was baptized a Lutheran and confirmed at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota. She attended schools in the Fridley/Spring Lake Park area and graduated from Blaine Senior High in 1977. After graduation, she attended school to become a beautician and worked in that field throughout her life. She was also an employee of Miller Research, FMC, EMC Publishing, Mr. Ts Dry Cleaning, and Buffalo Lake Restaurant. On August 9, 2008 Brenda was united in marriage to Jerry Vrchota. They moved out to Jerrys ranch in South Dakota where Brenda began writing under the pen name of Bren Austin. She had two of her books published. Brenda remained very close with her siblings throughout her life. She enjoyed hanging out with her family and friends. Family visits were filled with reminiscing over childhood memories and friendly teasing. Brenda was so proud of her two children, AJ and Adri, whom she loved dearly. Brenda enjoyed reading, gardening, cooking, doing crafts and decorating her home, especially for the holidays. She continued the tradition of makings pies for the holidays after her mother had passed away. Brenda was a member of several local community clubs to which she enjoyed the laughs and conversations they provided. Brenda had a kind and loving heart. She also loved her animals and long-time companions, Willie and Smokey. Brenda always thought that her father, Alvin, was laughing at her from heaven when she ended up on a farm again. Brenda enjoyed working with the cows, especially during calving time. She liked to give names to the little ones and spend time with them- she called it training . It was not uncommon to find her in the pen petting a newborn calf with its mother looking on. Some people like to refer to Brenda as the cow whisperer . When Brenda was diagnosed with Stage 4 terminal breast cancer in October of 2010, she opted, after much research, to handle her cancer with holistic methods, vitamins, positive thinking and praying for a miracle. She was very faithful. She wanted to live life well, not ill from traditional treatments. Despite suggested timelines of 1 to 1-1/2 years, she was able to outlive any prediction of her numbered days given her, and probably left this world because she was still very sharp in the mind and bored of not being able get out of bed to do all of the things she still dreamed about. Brenda passed away on December 21, 2012 at the Tekakwitha Nursing Center in Sisseton, SD. Brenda is survived by her husband Jerry Vrchota of Sisseton; her son and daughter Austin and Adriana Johnson of Anoka County, Minnesota; step-children Jeremy Vrchota (son Aidan) and Angie (Joey) Nvorak (children: Keegan, Andreya and George); sister Gerane (Jim) Horning of Grand Island, Florida; brothers: Alan (Cres) Schramm of Ramsey, Minnesota; Rick (Jenny) Schramm of Plymouth, Minnesota and Curt (Anita) Schramm of Palmetto, Georgia; parents-in-law: John and Evelyne Vrchota of Sisseton; nieces and nephews: Bridget (Jake) Coons (children Rhiannon and Tate), Chelsi (Jake) Johnson (daughter Hannah), Matt Schramm, Rachel (Steve) Sobolewski (daughter Evelyn), Colton Schramm, Melanie Schramm and Nick Schramm; and many other extended family and friends who loved her and will continue to miss her. Brenda was drawn to the cowboy lifestyle. As a tribute to her, you are welcome and encouraged to wear western attire to the funeral service.