Brian John Stockland

Brian John Stockland, 65, of Mankato, Minnesota, died unexpectedly at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Rochester,Saint Marys Campus following open heart surgery on Friday, May 15th.

Son of Sigvald and Vivian Stockland, he was born in Litchfield on February 16th, 1961. He was baptized and confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church in Lake Lillian, MN. Brian graduated in 1979 from Cosmos High School and received his BS from the University of Minnesota in St Paul with an Agribusiness Management degree in 1983.

After college, Brian worked at the USDA as a loan specialist for the entirety of his working career. He worked hard and loved his job.

Brian was an active member of Grace Lutheran Church in Lake Lillian and later Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Faribault. Recently he loved being involved again at Messiah Lutheran Church in Mankato. Throughout the years he served these congregations as an usher, videographer, and especially enjoyed the gardening group. He enjoyed Bible Studies and social gatherings with his church friends.

Brian enjoyed gardening, making candles, computer farming games (John Deeres only!), and watching movies. He especially treasured family gatherings. His tradition of planting geraniums on family graves each Memorial Day was very special to him. Brian was a sports enthusiast, especially of the Minnesota Twins, Vikings, Wild, and Gophers.

After retirement Brian moved back to Mankato to be near his good friend Bill, his church, and to be close to his beloved Mankato State University sports teams. He was a fixture at Maverick Hockey, Football and Basketball games, and rarely missed a Mankato Moondog baseball home game. His move back to Mankato also allowed him to build deep connections with family members from the younger generation as they attended MSU; his niece Lauren, and his cousin Zach.

Brian was a loyal and generous man with a great sense of humor. He had many friends, nieces and nephews that viewed him like a brother, a parent or a grandparent. He will be deeply missed by many.

Brian was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Mark. He is survived by his siblings, Louise Letnes (Mike Thompson), from St. Paul, Ann (Larry) Jones from Litchfield. He is also survived by his nephews and nieces Dan (Bridget) Letnes from New Brighton, Amy (Randy) Kleinhuizen from Farmington, Brett Thompson (Megan Gorder) from Proctor, Jessie (Zane) Jobe from Golden CO, and Amy Thompson (Micah Smith) from Austin TX. His great nieces and nephews include Lauren, Mason, Brooke, Natalie, Ella, Ben, Pruet, Maeve, Esher and Lily. He is also survived by many relatives and friends.

Brian's family will be planning a memorial service to be held later.