Brauti Fund to Support Youth Organizations
In 2008 Fred and Mary Brauti established a fund with the Benton County Foundation to support Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis, Old Mill School, and 4-H activities. Dr. and Mrs. Brauti wanted to give back to the local community where they have lived since 1966. Fred Brauti was born in Wheeler, Oregon, on the coast near Nehalem Bay. After graduating from Wheeler High School in 1943, he joined the U.S. Navy and completed a three-year officer’s training program. He began his training at the University of Idaho in Pocatello (now Idaho State University) and then transferred to the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1946. He was in active duty on a Navy cruiser in the Atlantic for six months before coming to Corvallis to attend pharmacy school. Fred graduated from Oregon State in 1949 and in 1953 he graduated from University of Oregon Medical School (now OHSU) in Portland. He went back to Minneapolis to complete an internship and residency in radiology at the University of Minnesota, finishing in 1958. He joined a private radiology practice in Minneapolis until 1966. Fred met Mary on a blind date, and they were married in 1963. Mary was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and attended Elmhurst College in Chicago. When her mother became ill, she transferred to McAllister College in Minneapolis to be closer to the family, and graduated from McAllister with a teaching degree in 1958. She taught first and second grades for five years before the couple moved to Corvallis. In 1965, Fred and Mary traveled to Woodburn, Oregon, to visit Fred’s parents and decided to take a side trip to Corvallis so Fred could show Mary where he went to school. As they drove down the street in Corvallis, Fred recognized the names of two Navy buddies—Art Ovregaard and Mike Merrill—on a sign for Corvallis Radiology. He decided to stop and say hello, and ended up with a job offer. The lure of small-town life was compelling, and the couple moved to Corvallis. Fred practiced with Corvallis Radiology until he retired in 1987. Fred and Mary have three children—David, Susie, and Annie—and six grandchildren. Mary has always done a lot of volunteer work with organizations such as the Assistance League, PEO, Samaritan hospital auxiliary, and the local schools. She still volunteers weekly for Meals on Wheels and sings in the choir at First Presbyterian Church. She and Fred are active in the Corvallis Country Club. They travel extensively in the United States and abroad, enjoy playing bridge, and are avid Beaver fans.