Posted: 1/10/07
The more he could help people, the happier he was
 Kriss Milbrandt holds dozens of cards and letters she received since the sudden death of her husband. Milbrandt said her husband will be remembered for putting others in front of himself. |
By Steve Morris
A community leader who transformed the way local church resources are distributed passed away at the age of 47 at his North Branch home.
Some people knew Bob Milbrandt as the general manager at Domino's Pizza in North Branch. Others were touched by his unyielding desire to help them in a crisis or financial pinch. Regardless of how people knew him, people who interacted with Milbrandt were impacted by his unparalleled attitude toward helping others.
Milbrandt was a social justice workhorse. At his funeral, it was said it will take 12 people to do all the work he did.
"It's a great snap shot of who he was," said his boss, Dave Nordberg, owner of Domino's Pizza.
In a regular week, Milbrandt would work 40 to 45 hours at Domino's and then spend an additional 40 hours volunteering with the Salvation Army, Knights of Columbus, the local food shelf and St. Gregory's Catholic Church in North Branch. He was going strong seven days a week, his wife Kriss said.
Milbrandt, who moved to North Branch from St. Francis six years ago with his wife and daughter, was not driven by money. On the contrary, the pure desire to help others is the fuel that made him go.
The hallmark of Milbrandt's community contributions may rest in the general use community fund he guided and led. The fund transformed the way local church resources were distributed.
Last spring, Milbrandt, with the help of other church leaders in the community, formed the North Branch Community Resource Fund (NBCRF).
NB COMMUNITY RESOURCE FUND
North Branch was having problems with people taking advantage of the resources of local churches. For instance, a person would go to one church, ask for money, and go down the street to the next church and ask for the same thing. The idea behind the fund was to consolidate the giving among the churches and designate one contact person.
Having a fund like this was one of Milbrandt's dreams and he hoped to one day turn it into a full-time job.
"That was his dream; to have something here that would help everyone," Kriss Milbrandt said.
Currently, the fund is under the umbrella of St. Gregory's Catholic Church in North Branch. A minimum of $100 is collected from each church involved. There is about $2,000 in the fund.
Today, thanks to the dedication of Milbrandt and others, when a person goes into one of 16 church offices in the community and asks for money, a place to stay or any other type of assistance they are directed to one person.
Before his death, that person was Milbrandt. He quickly became the one-stop source for people with needs in the community.
"Having one resource person is very nice," St. Gregory's Deacon Tom a said.
Langlois built a relationship with Milbrandt during the last four years, when Milbrandt first joined the church. Langlois said Milbrandt often worked too hard and Langlois told him to slow things down.
"I am going to miss him terribly ... it has been very hard," Langlois said. "He put others in front of himself."
Word about the success of the North Branch Community Resource Fund spread to other communities. Kriss Milbrandt said a member from the Catholic Aid organization in Hinckley and some people from the Stillwater area visited Bob to see how North Branch's fund was organized and to ask questions, in hopes they could bring something of similar nature to their community.
CONNECTIONS
What made Milbrandt unique was that he had connections all over the community and county. If he couldn't personally solve the problem, he knew someone who could. In addition, he knew the area well. Before he was a pizza delivery driver, he was a school bus driver for the North Branch school district. Together, they supplied him with the knowledge of the neighborhoods and streets.
A MAN TO TALK TO
A testament to his loyalty and dedication to the community can be seen by examining his cell phone usage -- it was off the charts. Soon after becoming the contact for the North Branch Community Resource Fund, he started getting calls on his phone from people needing assistance.
By most standards, 50 to 100 incoming phone calls in one day is unimaginable. But to Milbrandt, it was a daily occurrence. The calls ranged from people needing extra money for groceries to people needing a place to stay. It got to the point where his wife told him to turn off his phone because it became taxing on the family.
Nordberg knows first hand the amount of calls he received. While working, Nordberg said Milbrandt constantly got calls from strangers wanting to talk to him, or needing help. When Milbrandt would turn off his phone, people would just call the store, Nordberg said with a smile.
While general manager, Nordberg would allow Milbrandt to do his community outreach; it was his way of giving back.
After five and a half years at Domino's, Nordberg said, "he became the face of my business ..."
And if it wasn't phone calls, it was people dropping things off at the store for the Milbrandt to disperse among people in the community.
John Moosey, Chisago County administrator, enjoyed Domino's often and built a relationship with Milbrandt while waiting to pick up his pizza. Moosey looked forward to his pizza pick up because he got to visit with Milbrandt. After only a few minutes, Milbrandt had Moosey dropping off articles of clothing and other items to be donated.
"It was amazing; in just a few minutes a week he had such a big impact on me and my family," Moosey said. "He was always there with a big smile on his face."
What kept the smile on his face was helping others and serving the community.
Milbrandt suffered a massive heart attack on Dec. 18 and died. His wife found him on the bed unresponsive. Attempted to revive him were unsuccessful. He died from advanced coronary artery disease.
Milbrandt's wife said his attitude toward life and the community will be remembered.
"Taking care of people will be his legacy. He loved helping people and the more he could do that, the happier he was."
Comment from Kara, 1/15/07
Thank you for publishing the wonderful things this gentleman did. It not only lifts our spirits but inspires us to be more like him. Our prayers go out to his wife and family.
I will read a newspaper for this.
Comment from Lillian Egleston, 1/22/07
Thank you for such a beautiful article about my brother. I am very proud of him and all the wonderful works he performed and the others that he helped to make happen. Kris forwarded this article to me and I am so happy that she did. I am going to share it with all his family and friends here in Missouri. I hope by keeping his works in sight his work will continue thru others. He was loved by many but to me he was the little brother I helped raise and loved very much. I hope his memory will encourage many to see it only takes love to make things happen. Remembering my brother with love. Sis 1-21-07
Comment from michael metzinger, 2/16/07
Bob Milbrandt was my half brother, and I always loved his positive attitude. I was heartbroken when I heard of his passing and even more that I couldnt make it there for the funeral, with the weather and road conditions between Aberdeen Sd and Minnesota it made it impossible. I really like looking at these archived stories about Bob, it brings tears to my eyes, and makes me wonder why God would take someone that helps out so much.
Comment from The Beriou family, 5/1/07
We have gotten away from St Gregory's and learned of his death today. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the Milbrandt family. Bob was a wonderful guy who helped us with some of our struggles as well as being the Baptism class leader with his wife, Kriss. We truly feel blessed to have known him and are thankful for his generosity.
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