Kenneth I. ‘Bud’ Bruns
Funeral services for Kenneth I. ‘Bud’ Bruns, 95, Lawrence, will be at 10 am Tuesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, with Pastor Don Conrad officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. Bud died Thursday, June 11, 2015, at Brandon Woods at Alvamar.
He was born Apr. 22, 1920, in Longford, Kan., the son of Jesse and Pearl Frasier Bruns. He graduated from Longford Rural High School, and later served in the United States Navy during World War II, and was at Pearl Harbor during the surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Bud worked as a telephone technician for Southwestern Bell/AT&T for 36 years, retiring in 1984. He also changed the light bulbs in the old KLWN radio tower at 31st & Iowa St. He was a member and past president of the Lawrence Men’s Bowling Association, and a longtime member of Trinity Lutheran Church and the VFW. He enjoyed camping, traveling, poker, square dancing, and being a prankster.
Bud married Erma A. Sexton on July 7, 1956, in Abilene, Kan. She survives of the home. Other survivors include four children, Dean Bruns and wife Julie, McPherson, Randy Engle and wife Connie, Kansas City, Mo., Sharon Rose and husband Monte, Lawrence, and Rusty Bruns and wife Sheila, Baldwin City; a niece, Pam Rowson, Savage, Minn.; a nephew, Terry Owens, Denton, Tex.; ten grandchildren, Jayme, Michael, and Carolyn Bruns, Shawn and Joshua Engle, Kelle Rose, Laura Rose Clawson, and Cody, Cameron, and Caden Bruns; and five great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, a son, LCDR Brian K. Bruns, and a sister, Opal VanMeter.
Friends may call from noon to 8 pm Monday at the funeral home, where the family will receive them from 6-7:30 pm. Memorial contributions are suggested to Honor Flights, Wildland Firefighters Foundation, or Trinity Lutheran Church, in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044. Online condolences may be sent at rumsey-yost.com.
