Douglas S. Brenna

Douglas S. Brenna

Douglas Scott Brenna, 70, passed away suddenly from a cardiac event on December 4, 2025, at his home in Kirkland, WA. The youngest of three sons of Phyllis and Don Brenna, Doug was born in Grand Forks, ND, and grew up on the family farm in Brenna Township. His happy place was the middle of a wheat field, and a good meal always included some “spuds.”

 His life-long love of music began when he sang his first solo as a four-year-old at Evanger Lutheran, aka “The Brenna Church.” For the first six grades, Doug attended “Brenna 13 Country School,” a one-room prairie school house, along with his brothers Rick and Steve, his cousins, and all the kids from the neighboring farms. Most were descendants of “The Ten,” children of Guri and Orjans Brenna who had immigrated from Norway. “In Brenna township, everyone either was a Brenna or wanted to be one.”

 The 100-year-old farmhouse never had indoor plumbing, so subzero winters and his Viking heritage helped Doug grow up strong, resilient, and content with simple things. This increased when his father was tragically killed in a farming accident when Doug was only seven, leaving his young mother to raise her boys alone. Childhood days found “Little Dougie” playing hockey, riding his bike for miles to the pool in town, or walking for hours along the straight, flat, roads between the farms where, “your neighbors live so far away, your dog never has puppies.”

Doug attended Schroeder Jr. High and Thompson High, but finished high school away at Oak Grove Lutheran School in Fargo in 1973. He sang in Oak Grove choirs, often as a featured soloist. His music continued, accompanied by his guitar or banjo, during summers around campfires at Red Willow Bible Camp. It was here on Cross Hill that he gave his heart to his Lord Jesus, who brought tenderness to his toughness. He became a counselor for special needs campers, continuing through his college summers.

 Doug worked his way through college at the University of North Dakota by teaching ballroom dance. He continued to sing in choirs and small groups, including The Varsity Bards. He toured Eastern Europe with the select men’s ensemble, Goliards, later invited to sing at Carnegie Hall. In 1977, he graduated with a degree in Social Work, specializing in Family Counseling. His vehicles were flag colors of Norway and the USA: a trusty red Silverado, a white motorcycle that took him to Sturgis, and a sweet 1967 blue Camaro.

 Hired by Boeing in 1978, Doug worked underground in Missouri with the Minuteman missile program. In early 1980, he moved to Burien and began picking parts for Boeing’s Materiel Division. Before his 2019 retirement from Procurement Management as an award-winning Contracts Administrator, he had literally seen it all. He had worked at every Boeing location in the Puget Sound region, and was thankful for his High Woodlands home along I-405 where he and Terry lived for over 41 years.

Terry and Doug

When Doug moved to the PNW, his cousin Roxanne invited him to church at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue. Here, his faith was rekindled, and he formed several lifelong friendships, including his wife, Terry (Moore), whom he met at choir practice. Happily married for 43 years, he called her, “My Beloved.” They sang together in an octet called Horizon and in choirs at Overlake, Northshore, and Alderwood churches. They were blessed to raise and homeschool their two wonderful children, Dr. Amanda Brenna of Lakebay, WA, and David Brenna of Friendswood, TX. David married his darling Kathryn (Brune), and Doug was thrilled to become Poppa to Bailey, Benjamin, and Brooke. Family and friends brought him joy.

 Doug was a quiet, generous, faithful man known for his loyal friendship, dry wit, and hearty bear hugs. He spent many hours studying his Bible and learning music. He won chili cookoffs, made the best pasta dishes, and was a smoker… of meat. He enjoyed golf, classic cars, road trips in his truck blaring country music, and time outdoors gardening, camping, and fishing. His trail name was “Gus.” He was a great travel companion, and he and Terry had just returned in October from their long-awaited trip of a lifetime to Europe. “We’ll always have Paris.”

Memorial services will be held at 2:00 PM on January 24, 2026, at Alderwood Community Church in Lynnwood. Doug’s remains will go home to North Dakota to be surrounded by fields of gold. He said to his friends who rest in Christ, “If I don’t see you in the future, I’ll see you in the pasture.” In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to water projects of World Concern or to Red Willow Ministries.