Karen Wilson Bruker

1959 - 2025

Augusta, GA – Karen Wilson Bruker, born March 6, 1959, in Shelbyville, Indiana, was a steadfast presence in downtown Augusta and a devoted supporter of her community. She dedicated her life to family, service, and the preservation of Augusta's history and culture.

Alongside her late husband, Davenport Sanford "Dee" Bruker, Karen played an important role in the city's revitalization. Through Dee's leadership in the Clean Augusta Downtown Initiative and the Downtown Augusta Alliance, the couple championed downtown loft redevelopment and historic preservation, sparking a transformation that reshaped the heart of the city.

Karen's passion for architecture and history was evident in her service on the Board of Trustees for Historic Augusta, where she chaired the Downtown Loft Tour. She also gave her time and creativity to the Summerville Neighborhood Association, helping organize the Tour of Homes. A lifelong supporter of education, she was deeply involved at Forest Hills School, where her daughters attended, serving as photographer, yearbook contributor, and PTA president.

Her love for community extended to many causes close to her heart. She was an Art Benefactor member of the Greater Augusta Arts Council, a tireless supporter of downtown initiatives, and helped establish a welcoming reading room at the Ronald McDonald House of Augusta. Most dear to her was honoring the memory of her daughter through the Alison Bruker Memorial Scholarship Fund, ensuring opportunities for students for years to come.

Above all, Karen was the lifeline of her family: her beloved husband, daughters, siblings, and extended relatives.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Davenport Sanford Bruker; her daughter, Alison W. Bruker; her father, Harold E. Wilson; her mother, Nancy N. Gilchrist; her father-in-law, William C. Bruker; her mother-in-law, Jane S. Bruker; her brother, Larry W. Wilson; her sister, Nanette Covington; her sister-in-law, J. Merritt Bruker; and her nephew, Matthew B. Wilson.

She is survived by her daughters, Caroline B. Freier (Sönke) and Colleen S. Bruker; her brothers, Garry D. Wilson (Theresa) and Brian N. Wilson (Susan); her brother-in-law, William C. Bruker, Jr.; her nephew, William C. Bruker, III; her nieces, Stephanie W. Hearn, Tara C. Pope, Christy Covington, and Sarah H. Bruker; and extended family in Indiana.

Karen's influence will be felt not only in the bricks and buildings she helped preserve, but in the many lives she touched with her generosity, vision, and love.

Services will be private.

Memorials may be made to the Alison Bruker Memorial Scholarship Fund, 931 Broad Street, Augusta, GA 30901-1212.

Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com