Rd Briley

R D Briley, age 94, of Baxter Minnesota passed away on November 10, 2019. R D was born September 29, 1925 in Paden, Oklahoma to Fred and Altha Briley. R D married the love of his life, Shirley Melstrand, on July 14, 1943 and together they had two sons Ronald in 1945 and Darryl in 1955. R D and Shirley were married for 70 years until Shirley passed away in July 2013. Immediately after R D and Shirley were married, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1971 as a Master Gunnery Sargent, having served in aviation squadrons in World War II (Peleliu and Okinawa), the Korean War and the Vietnam War. From 1971 to 1977, R D was co-owner and operator of Bay Lake Marine in Deerwood Minnesota. The Briley’s lived in Kerrville, Texas, from 1990 until R D moved to Minnesota to be closer to family in March 2019. R D loved to take long walks, work in his yard, and hunt and fish. R D is preceded in death by Shirley, his parents, one brother and one sister. He is survived by sons Ronald and Darryl; daughter-in-law Nancy; four grandchildren David (Linda) Briley, Ronda (Doug) Parker, Thomas (Laura) Briley and Christopher Briley; seven great grandchildren; his brother Bob; and nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held Monday, November 25 at 11:00AM at Halvorson Taylor Life Events Center (512 S 8th St, Brainerd). Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.