lit a candle 27d agoRead this on my phone at the nursery, between watering trays. Home economics teacher, fifty years old. My grandmother taught the same subject in Georgia for thirty years and it took real skill, not fluff like people think. Sorry for her family.
Their story
Brenda Rae Liesman was a teacher and home economics enthusiast from Colorado who spent her working life in the classroom before years of health struggles led her to relocate to Rochester, Minnesota, for specialized care. She died on September 18, 2026, at the age of 50. Brenda was born on…
Brenda Rae Liesman was a teacher and home economics enthusiast from Colorado who spent her working life in the classroom before years of health struggles led her to relocate to Rochester, Minnesota, for specialized care. She died on September 18, 2026, at the age of 50.
Brenda was born on February 21, 1976, to Ray and Wanda (Anders) Liesman, and was raised in Greeley, Colorado. She went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics and later a Master's degree in Teaching. Her first teaching post was at Rifle High School in western Colorado, where she taught Consumer and Family Studies. She later moved to Illinois, where she taught first grade at Schaumburg Christian School.
Home economics was more than a credential for Brenda, it shaped how she lived. Those who knew her described a woman who constantly beautified the spaces and lives around her, whether through meal presentation, home decor, landscaping, sewing, or knitting and crocheting, and who shared the results of that creativity generously with others as an expression of her Christian faith. She was remembered by her family as someone whose unwavering faith carried her through significant physical trials, and who remained devoted to her siblings and their families even though they were spread across the country.
In 2022, after years of declining health, Brenda relocated to Rochester, Minnesota, so she could receive ongoing, comprehensive care at the Mayo Clinic. She is survived by two sisters, Natalie Phelps and Amy Rester, and a brother, Joel Liesman, along with twelve nieces and nephews to whom she was a devoted aunt. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Brenda died at home on September 18, 2026, from multiple medical conditions, primarily gastrointestinal failure. Her death was announced through an obituary published by Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes in Rochester. Her family expressed gratitude to her physicians at the Mayo Clinic and to the Mayo Hospice team for the care and companionship she received in her final years and at her bedside.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by Legacy obituary.
My mom taught Home Ec too, people forget how much went into that curriculum