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BORN
1933
DIED
2023
James Bruening Obituary
James Ray Bruening, 89, of Mesa, Arizona, died April 5, 2023. He was born August 19, 1933, in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, to Henry and Ethel Bruening. He graduated from DuBois High School, DuBois, Pennsylvania. He received a football scholarship from the University of New Mexico and graduated from UNM in 1955. He served as Assistant Dean of Men at the university. Jim married Laura L. Lovett in 1954 in Belen, New Mexico.
Jim received a call to pastoral ministry while in high school and continued his ministerial training after college. He graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, in 1960 with a Bachelor of Divinity degree and was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel in the Evangelical United Brethren Church, which united with the Methodist Church to become the United Methodist Church.
Jim served three churches in twelve years in the E.U.B. denomination. He was pastor of churches in Johnstown, Colorado, Española, New Mexico, and Aurora, Colorado. He became a Presbyterian pastor in 1972 and served churches in Roswell, New Mexico, and Mesa, Arizona. He received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1984.
Following eleven years as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Mesa, he retired from active service in 1998, but continued serving churches when needed. Jim was involved in community service in each city that he served. In retirement, he loved doing genealogy and scrapbooking in order to leave his family a sense of their history.
He is survived by his wife, Laura, and three children: Linda (Dan) Reeves of Mesa, Brian (Callie) Bruening of Lubbock, Texas, and Lisa (Kurt) Dorr of Little Elm, Texas, and six grandchildren: Kevin (Jess) and Jason (Amanda) Reeves, Laura (Javier) Peña, Carter (Brittney) Bruening, Austin (Peyton) and Garrett Dorr, and seven great grandchildren: Brielle, Everleigh, Declynn and Owen Reeves, Sophia, Isabella and David Peña.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, Mesa. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to First Presbyterian Church, 161 N. Mesa Drive, Mesa, AZ 85201.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for James Bruening
3 Entries
Judy May Snyder
July 23, 2023
Hi Laura. Our family moved to Roswell in 1981 when my husband, Don May, took a job there. Our search for a church to join ended the Sunday we made our first visit to First Presbyterian. On that day, Jim said " You don´t have to be a Presbyterian to go to Heaven. You just have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God". We knew that day that we had found the church for us. We lived in Roswell four years, and in those four years the church made us welcome in every way. I served on one of Jim´s committees and I remember him saying " Judy, your Baptist is showing". He was right, of course, given that I had grown up in the Baptist church. But with Jim´s guidance, we all became ardent Presbyterians! I often think of those times, and so today I thought I´d just look on line to see if I could find you, and then I came across the obituary. I am so sorry to learn of Jim´s passing, and wish I had reached out earlier to him. Our years in NM and being involved in First Presbyterian are some of my best memories. Sadly, Don unexpectedly passed away 21 years ago. Our girls, Alicia and Kristin, are both married with grown children now and still teaching. Please know that you and your family are in our prayers and Jim will always be remembered fondly by my girls and me. Judy May Snyder
Hollis Wilson
April 29, 2023
My deepest sympathies to your family. I was a candlelight lighter with Doug Serry at there wedding at Emanuel Presbyterian so long ago.
Ll
April 18, 2023
May God´s loving kindness and comfort help you and your family through this very difficult time. Matthew 5:4
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