Starting in 1906 and working with Halvor Hustvedt, Brandt was one of the first editors of the Lutheran Herald. This was the first general church organ published in English by a Norwegian-American synodical body. Brandt was a member of the South Dakota Board of Regents from 1890 until 1892. He also proved himself a leader of the movement to outlaw liquor in the state of South Dakota.[5]
Realf Brandt married Thalette "Lettie" Mathilde Galby (1859–1939) in 1880.[6] The daughter of John T. Galby and Margaret Aaker of Ridgeway, Iowa, Lettie was educated at the Breckenridge Institute in Decorah. She served as an officer in several Lutheran church organizations, including two terms as secretary of the Eastern District Women's Missionary Federation.[7]