Barry Brovold

Barry Brovold, age 72, of McIntosh, MN, passed away on Thursday, July 17th, at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, ND. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 25th, at Vernes Lutheran Church, rural McIntosh, with the Rev. Lee Laaveg officiating. Interment will be in the Vernes Cemetery. Family will greet friends for one hour prior to the service on Friday at the church. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of McIntosh and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com.

Barry Eugene Brovold was born on June 12, 1953, in Fosston, Minnesota to parents Harold and Vivian (Jensen) Brovold. He went through first grade in McIntosh, attended school in Thief River Falls and graduated from Armstrong High School in Plymouth, Minnesota in 1971. Overcoming much adversity and coming from nothing, he became a self-starter, a trait that served him well throughout his life. Because of this “can do” attitude, Barry was able to attend college completely on his own dime. He married Charlene Wood and to this marriage, two children were born, Brandon Gene and Kirsten Lea. They would later divorce.

Barry was united in marriage to Marlys Finseth Burkman (one of his first-grade classmates in McIntosh) on September 25, 1996. Together, they lived and worked in the St. Paul area.

Barry worked at Benson Optical, 3M, Imation, and was a Safety Coordinator at Koch Refinery in the southern metro. He finished his career with Medtronic. Barry was truly a brilliant man. He was named on several patents, including Compact Disc and also was instrumental in developing kidney dialysis machines for third-world countries. Being quite a mathematician and engineer, with Medtronic, one of his last jobs was assisting in the development of heart monitors.

Barry and Marlys returned to McIntosh in 2019, living at the original Finseth homestead.

Barry loved to ride motorcycles and photography. Barry and Marlys had many fun adventures together. Sometimes it was as simple as driving around the countryside and just experiencing new scenery. They truly enjoyed spending time together. He also had an enjoyable trip to Norway and was proud of his Norwegian heritage.

Barry went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Thursday, July 17, 2025, at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, ND at the age of 72 years.

Survivors include his loving wife, Marlys, of McIntosh; children, Kirsten Brovold of McIntosh; Brandon Brovold (Maria Rotondo) of Orono, MN, Jennifer Olson-Burkman (Ron Dietl) of Becker, MN, and Shawn (Don) Hagen of Menhaga, MN; 9 grandchildren, Zackary (Caitlin), Trinity, Maxwell, Alec, Makayla, Isabella, Meredith, Julia, and Clara.

Also surviving are brothers and sisters-in-law, Carolyn (Jerry) Nelson of Erskine, MN, Leslie (Mavis) Finseth of McIntosh, Sidney (Lynae) Finseth of Trail, MN, Rudy (Kathy) Finseth of McIntosh, Gladys (Keith) Bakken of Crookston, MN, and Tim (Ruth) Finseth of Warren, MN; special friends Jim and Semmy; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Vivian; brother, Brett; step-father, William Miller; and his faithful dog, Rusty.