Possibilities and Integrity with Dick Brown

Dick Brown has spent eight decades living by a phrase his mentor shared with him as a young man, "Think of the possibilities." The 2019 South Dakota Hall of Fame Inductee grew up in Dell Rapids in a family whose roots in the state stretch back to a Norwegian homestead built along Split Rock Creek in 1873.

"Remember who you are," Dick said, describing the value his parents instilled in him from the very beginning. "It’s a reminder to remember where your roots are. The wider community around you."

That sense of obligation to something larger than himself would carry Dick through a career in national politics, regional development, banking, insurance, elected office and conservation. It also shaped a strong marriage and family life he calls his greatest accomplishment.

A Family Built on Service

Dick's great-grandfather, Erick Berdahl, helped settle the Split Rock Creek area after arriving from Norway in 1854 and later served in the South Dakota Legislature. That homestead became part of the inspiration for Ole Rolvaag's novel "Giants in the Earth," a book Dick still connects to deeply.

"There's a marvelous artifact on the Augustana University campus," Dick said, referring to Rolvaag's original writing cabin. "It gives me chills to think about it."

Growing up in a small town where, as Dick puts it, he had a cousin in every class from kindergarten through his senior year, there was little room for anything but involvement. His mother became the first woman president of the Dell Rapids Lutheran Church, and his father was a recognized statewide conservation leader. Service was not an occasional act in the Brown household, but a way of life. 

Doc Farber and a Life-Changing Introduction

At the University of South Dakota, Dick came under the mentorship of Dr. William O. "Doc" Farber, the legendary political science professor who also shaped the careers of Tom Brokaw and generations of South Dakota leaders. Dick lived at Farber's house for four and a half years through college, and traveled with him across the country and Europe.

"No one outside of my own family had a greater impact," Dick said of Doc Farber. "I hope to be a nutritious person, so that whenever someone has an experience with me, they feel that they've gained something out of it."

Doc Farber, working alongside Carol Zimmerman, arranged the blind date with Carol's daughter that introduced Dick to his future wife, Sue, during a holiday visit to Farber's hometown of Geneseo, Illinois. Sue, then a political science major at Lawrence University, would become Dick's wife of over 50 years, his closest advisor, and in 2008, a South Dakota Hall of Fame Inductee in her own right. Dick and Sue are one of only three couples ever inducted together into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

"She was there as my mentor and monitor and support for all those many years," Dick said. "The brains of the outfit, without a doubt."

From Washington to the Missouri River to Home

After earning his degrees at USD, Dick spent five years in Washington, D.C., working as a professional staff member for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on National Security and International Operations while pursuing PhD studies. He went on to serve seven years as executive secretary of the Missouri River Basin Commission, coordinating water and natural resource planning across ten states before a call from friends back home brought Dick and Sue back to Sioux Falls in 1979 to lead the city's Downtown Development Corporation.

What followed was a career built on relationships and reinvention: vice president for public affairs at Norwest Bank, two decades as general agent for Lutheran Brotherhood, eight years in the South Dakota Legislature, and four years as a Game, Fish and Parks Commissioner. Even after what most people would call retirement, Dick and Sue went on to raise more than 15 million dollars in private funding for public projects including Good Earth State Park, the Mickelson Trail, and the Custer State Park Visitor Center.

"When we made progress, everyone else made progress too," Dick said of the philosophy behind his decades of service.

An Affirmation of a Life Well Lived

For Dick, being inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame alongside his wife Sue was less about personal recognition and more about validation of a life spent in service to others.

"With all humility, I think it's an affirmation of how we've lived our lives. What we've done, and our ability to be participants in helping communities."

When asked how he hopes to be remembered, Dick pointed to the same values Doc Farber instilled in him at USD: integrity, civility, and a commitment to lifting others up rather than tearing them down.

"I don't have to step on somebody else in order for us to enjoy things," he said. "Lift each other up."

Learn more about Dick Brown's life and legacy here: https://sdexcellence.org/Dick_Brown_2019  

Watch the full interview with Dick Brown to hear his story in his own words.