Kathleen Amanda Brunia died Thursday, October 13, 2011 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease at the ManorCare facility in West Des Moines. Kathleen and her twin sister Kay were born at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa on June 24, 1933 to Louis Leslie and Katherine Esther Crees Roberts. The majority of their first seven years was spent in Audubon, Iowa living with their father's brother and his wife, Alvin and Hazel Roberts. From there she moved to Des Moines and graduated from North High School. On June 7, 1951 she married her childhood sweetheart, William Brunia. Four children were born to this union. Kathleen was a dedicated wife and mother and was co-owner of Brunia Electric, and later worked for The Counselor in Windsor Heights. She was an avid reader, reading the Christian Bible and the majority of other books by her favorite Christian authors. She enjoyed spending many hours recording family history, tracing many relatives back to the seventeenth century. Kathleen is a member of the First Church of the Open Bible on Beaver Avenue. She has a Sesquicentennial Pioneer Certificate from the Iowa Genealogical Society, where she was a charter member as being a direct descendent of Henry Crees who moved to Iowa in 1846. Kathleen was preceded in death by her infant daughter, Ena Marie, her parents and her sister, Beverly. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, William; daughters, Phyllis Stackhouse (Randy) of Ankeny and Julie Thompson (Jon) of Urbandale; son, William L. of Dexter; seven grandchildren, Matthew Ferring (Kari), David Ferring (Laura), Troy Ferring (Laura), Joy Esser (Matthew), Jennifer Thompson, Jill Chapin (Sean) and Alexis Thompson; ten great-grandchildren; three step-grandchildren and seven step great-grandchildren; her twin sister, Kay Thelen (Gene) of Ankeny and sister Linda Smith (Dan) of Highlands Ranch CO
Kathleen Amanda Brunia died Thursday, October 13, 2011 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease at the ManorCare facility in West Des Moines. Kathleen and her twin sister Kay were born at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa on June 24, 1933 to Louis Leslie and Katherine Esther Crees Roberts. The majority of their first seven years was spent in Audubon, Iowa living with their father's brother and his wife, Alvin and Hazel Roberts. From there she moved to Des Moines and graduated from North High School. On June 7, 1951 she married her childhood sweetheart, William Brunia. Four children were born to this union. Kathleen was a dedicated wife and mother and was co-owner of Brunia Electric, and later worked for The Counselor in Windsor Heights. She was an avid reader, reading the Christian Bible and the majority of other books by her favorite Christian authors. She enjoyed spending many hours recording family history, tracing many relatives back to the seventeenth century. Kathleen is a member of the First Church of the Open Bible on Beaver Avenue. She has a Sesquicentennial Pioneer Certificate from the Iowa Genealogical Society, where she was a charter member as being a direct descendent of Henry Crees who moved to Iowa in 1846. Kathleen was preceded in death by her infant daughter, Ena Marie, her parents and her sister, Beverly. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, William; daughters, Phyllis Stackhouse (Randy) of Ankeny and Julie Thompson (Jon) of Urbandale; son, William L. of Dexter; seven grandchildren, Matthew Ferring (Kari), David Ferring (Laura), Troy Ferring (Laura), Joy Esser (Matthew), Jennifer Thompson, Jill Chapin (Sean) and Alexis Thompson; ten great-grandchildren; three step-grandchildren and seven step great-grandchildren; her twin sister, Kay Thelen (Gene) of Ankeny and sister Linda Smith (Dan) of Highlands Ranch CO
