Byline: Ben Cohen; Staff Writer
In a different era, Willetta (Pinkie) Brown of Kasota, Minn., might have been a headline name on the sports pages. But when she played tennis, basketball and volleyball, there wasn't much in the way of organized sports for girls and young women.
Brown worked to change that, helping to bring interscholastic sports to Minnesota girls. She died last Thursday at her home. She was 82.
Brown taught physical education and coached girls' basketball, track and volleyball at Alexander Ramsey High School (now Roseville Area High School) from 1952 to 1985.
She was inducted into the Minnesota State High School League's Hall of Fame in 1993. 'She was a terrific coach and teacher as well as an organizer,' said Paul Busch, a retired teacher and coach. She also could play a variety of sports. 'Had women's athletics been around when she was in high school, she would have been an unbelievable athlete,' Busch said.
He added that she had a bit of a temper, especially toward those who were rude to her student athletes simply because they were girls.
For many years, Brown held workshops to teach girls' coaches, and she volunteered on committees and boards that supported girl athletes, said Ruth Engebritson, a retired Alexander Ramsey teacher and coach.
Brown, a 1945 graduate of the former Mankato Teachers College, served on the Minnesota State High School League's Women's Advisory Committee in 1969, and was a founding member of the Minnesota Coaches Association for Girls Sports.
She is survived by a sister, Wanda Smith of Owatonna. Services have been held.
