Jan Brosveen

Janice Lynda Lares Brosveen passed away in Albuquerque, NM on May 31, 2025 at the age of 84. Her peaceful passing on a hot New Mexico day differed greatly from her birth in Bemidji, MN on November 11, 1940. Jan was born during a famous Veteran's Day blizzard, and her father Lynford needed snowshoes to reach the hospital!

Jan grew up in Duluth, MN where she excelled as a student. Her dad died when she was 13 years old; she grew up with her mom Edna and favorite grandparent "Grandma Gran," who were both full-blooded Norwegian, as well as sisters Beverly and Diane. Graduating from Central High School in 1958, Jan earned a letter from the Girls' Athletic Assoc. and a full-ride college scholarship. While attending the U of Minnesota Duluth, future husband Doug first saw her while walking through the gym during her freshman PE class. He said, "I saw a good-looking redhead with great legs and decided I needed to get to know her." Doug and Jan's birthdays were exactly one week apart, and in the fall of 1958, they started dating at age 17.

Jan joined local sorority Sigma Psi Gamma and graduated cum laude with a degree in Elementary Education. She and best friend Mary Erickson took a post-college two month trip to Europe in 1962, traveling with a book titled, "Travel Europe on $5 a Day." Towards the end of the trip, Jan ran short on funds and contacted Doug to request he wire her money to finish her travels and return home. After more than 60 years of marriage, Doug still considers this loan one of his best investments!

In the fall of 1962, Jan began her teaching career in Duluth while Doug completed his degree and ROTC training. He joined the Air Force and went to Lubbock, TX for pilot training. Just after Christmas 1963, Doug decided to propose long-distance from a phone booth on base. Her family's only telephone was in the middle of the house and not very private, so at first her answer was, "Maybe."

Doug and Jan married July 11, 1964 and lived in many states courtesy of the Air Force, including NV, ME, NY, SC, CA, ID, ND and MN, with a final tour in NM. Jan taught school until the 1970 birth of their only child, Emily Lyn, in northern California. She loved babies and was a natural mother, with talents for decorating their various homes, sewing, cooking and entertaining. In both MN and NM, Jan and Doug belonged to Gourmet Groups in which couples took turns hosting elaborate dinners representing various countries.

In 1981, they moved to NM "temporarily" for Doug's last military tour, but Jan loved the climate and tri-culture so much that she wanted to stay. From their many cross-country moves, Jan had always been interested in real estate and decided to get her license. She became a very successful realtor, earning the Los Mejores and Presidential Awards from the Albuquerque Board of Realtors for many years and joining a group of top-producers at a firm called Metro 100. Jan's sister Diane also moved to Albuquerque from Duluth and they partnered in real estate during the 1980's.

Jan's real estate career lasted from 1983 until 2005, when she retired and spent time caring for her only grandchild, Lindsay Eckelman. Doug and Jan also took the opportunity to travel even more and ventured to such places as Alaska, Austria, Singapore, Germany, Hawaii, Switzerland, Canada and South Africa.

When Doug and Jan first met, she struck him as very poised and lady-like with a quiet competence. As time went on, she became more outgoing, with an understated sense of humor. Jan was always artistic and excelled at creative, clever home projects and solutions. She was smart, fun, frugal and delighted in finding "a good deal"--a value she passed to her daughter and granddaughter. Jan was also patient, kind, sympathetic, gentle (with an occasional spark!) and loved to wear the color blue, which matched her eyes.

She is already greatly missed and survived by husband Doug, daughter Emily and son-in-law Carl, granddaughter Lindsay, sisters Beverly Hughes and Diane Becker, niece Allison Hughes and grandniece Zola, brother-in-law Kent Brosveen, cousin Paul Gran, his wife Kay and their sons, as well as many beloved friends.

A memorial service will be held at Amaran Senior Living, 9100 Holly Avenue NE near Paseo del Norte and Ventura, on Thursday, June 19th at 2pm. Internment will be sometime later this summer at Crystal Lake Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to her favorite and only charity, Planned Parenthood. The family also supports Animal Humane NM.