John Bravis, a Columbia Heights native whose engineering contributions helped spark Minnesota’s bustling medtech community, never became a household name. But to his Medtronic counterparts—namely co-founders Earl Bakken and Palmer Hermundslie—he was an irreplaceable asset.
Bravis died earlier this month at age 90. But he left behind a legacy as the company’s first full-time hire outside of its founders and was a crucial actor in saving the fledgling startup that would eventually become the world’s largest medtech firm.
