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John Bruni Obituary
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John enjoyed camping and hunting and was an Eagle Scout. John graduated from Monroe High School in 1956. He enlisted in the Marine Corp in 1955 while in high school and served as a Marine until 1958. John then transferred to the Army, including service in France beginning in 1963, and ending his service with a tour in Vietnam as an Army combat engineer in 1967 when he was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain.
From 1957 to 1959 John attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison, then transferred to the University of Illinois – Champagne where he graduated with a degree in architecture in 1962. John operated his architecture and construction business in Monroe, Wisconsin for over 30 years, completing over 400 commercial and industrial projects, as well as his signature style of earth architecture homes.
John loved the Wisconsin River, kayaking, camping, mountain climbing, and writing books. Mountains John climbed include Mt. Blanc (France); the Matterhorn (Switzerland); Tetons (Wyoming, USA); Long's Peak (Colorado, USA); Granite Peak (Montana, USA); Mt. Everest (to 23,650 ft. elevation).
John is survived by his wife, Debra Jonas, his son Jonathan (Sue) Bruni and daughter Pamela (Steve) Grant; four grandchildren Lacey (Zach) Zimmermann, Olivia Bruni, Alex Grant and Michael Bruni; father-in-law Jerry (Karen) Jonas, brother-in-law Bradley (Shirley) Jonas and sister-in-law Jolene (Dennis) Wozniak; niece Laura Logan, nephews Kerry and Brian Drake, and others.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Jessie Mae and John Henry Bruni, his sister Maureen Drake and brother-in-law Gordy Drake.
A private celebration of life for John will be held at his home.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
2 Entries
Mark Gardner
February 11, 2024
When I recall Mr. Bruni (he was my best friend´s dad and my first boss in construction, so he will always be Mr. Bruni to me), several fond memories come to mind. Trusting Jon and I at 17 (ish) years old to operate heavy machinery on a legit, real-world construction project. Taking Jon and his friends, including me, cave exploring. His reaction when I put a one-inch-deep crease down the entire right side of one of his construction company´s pickup trucks while ineptly trying to back it through a tight-fitting barn door opening that I should have thought twice about before attempting. He was not overjoyed about that of course, but he didn´t yell, could tell I felt bad, and thanked me for being forthcoming, teaching me something about how bosses can choose to handle honest mistakes, that I´ve always tried to remember since. But my favorite memory of Mr. Bruni is when he flew to Colorado to see his son in the hospital - a result of our infamous, Rocky Mountain National Park trip and our unfortunate, associated rock-climbing accident. He of course, also stopped by my hospital room to check on me and make sure I was ok, then after a day or so, proceeded to escort all of us - minus Jon who was much more seriously hurt and who was likely very much on his mind - safely back home to Wisconsin, driving us in my parent´s dilapidated Chevy Suburban for the next three days. He never once lectured or scolded us or felt the need to otherwise talk to us about the lesson we all had learned. He was just glad we were ok and he was focused on getting us back home to our families. He was a good man, and a good boss. Smart, decisive, tough, but fair, and funny (I always liked his dry sense of humor). I looked up to him then, and still do today. Godspeed Mr. Bruni and thanks for everything.
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