Nancy “Nan” C. Branen, who with her family owned the Burlington Standard Press and Southern Lakes Media for many years, died Friday, Sept. 10, at her home in Burlington. She was 91.
Born Oct. 27, 1929, in Milwaukee, Nan was the daughter of Clarence and Norma (Roestel) Noerenberg. She married William E. “Bill” Branen on June 18, 1949.
The Branen family started its nearly 50-year run of newspaper ownership when Bill Branen bought the Burlington Standard Democrat in 1954. A member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame and the first president of the WNA Foundation, he served as publisher of what later became the Standard Press until his death in 1988.
Following Bill’s death, Nan Branen served as chairman of the board for Southern Lakes Media, parent company of the Standard Press and the family’s other weekly newspapers. She also handled accounting, ad layout and proofreading for the company, was a partner in Sauk County Media’s newspapers in Reedsburg and served as publisher of the Poynette Press and Evansville Leader.
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Their sons, Bob and Shad, served as publisher and president of Southern Lakes Media, respectively. Bob Branen also was president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association in 2000. The family ran the newspaper business until April 2001, when it sold to the Cruger family, which continues to run the company today.
Daughter Kathy Tobin also spent her career in the newspaper business, as owner of the Tomahawk Leader along with her husband, Larry Tobin. The Tobins bought the Leader in April 1982 and published the weekly newspaper until selling it to Multi Media Channels in June 2019.
In addition to her work with Southern Lakes, Nan Branen was actively involved in the Burlington community and with the WNA Foundation. She was a member of several groups and clubs in Burlington and served as secretary, treasurer and vice president of the WNA Foundation.
Following her husband’s death, Branen established the William E. Branen Scholarship, which annually awards $1,000 to each of the top three high school journalism programs in the WNAF High School Better Newspaper Contest.
The family welcomes donations in Branen’s memory to the scholarship fund. Donations may be mailed to WNA Foundation, Attn: Branen Scholarship, 34 Schroeder Ct., Suite 220, Madison, WI 53711.
A celebration of Nan’s life will be held at a future date.
