William (Bill) Alonzo Bruner was a devoted husband, loving father and proud grand and great grandfather. He was born on October 14, 1930 at his home in Palo Verde, Arizona. His parents were Fred and Vivian Bruner. He was brought up to be honest, self-confident and dependable. He rose early every morning to complete his chores on the dairy farm before he went to school. He would complete his homework at school because more chores awaited him when he returned home. He grew up on the family farm with his 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Many happy and hard years with a close family.
College life brought with it a new set of challenges. Bill was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. At ASU Bill was in the ROTC program which provided him uniforms to wear to school and he also worked on campus to help pay for his schooling. During his time at ASU Bill had a terrible reaction to being stung by a scorpion on the farm. The family rallied together and collected 26,000 scorpions most of which went to the ASU Poisonous Animal Research Lab to provide a serum against scorpion stings. He graduated from ASU with his degree in Physical Science with an emphasis on Chemistry.
After graduation Bill joined the Air Force. He was stationed in Merced, California & Alaska. Bill served during the Korean conflict and was an integral part of the air support operations. Through his hard work and dedication, he achieved the rank of Captain. His results-oriented approach to things earned him the respect of his peers, and he understood well and appreciated his role in serving his country.
While in the military Bill was sent to the University of New Mexico to obtain his Meteorological training. There he met the love of his life Norma Lee on a blind date arranged by friends. While in training Bill and Norma were married four months after they met. Once he attained his degree he and Norma returned to El Cerrito, California where he helped build the family home. This is where Bill built his family which included several pets. One of Bill’s favorites was Duke – a collie that was very protective of the children. Over the years the family would have several pets including a poodle named Maurice and several cats – Foot foot, Misty Blue and Cardy.
Bill put his chemical engineering degree to work and accepted a job with Standard Oil. During his career he established himself as a hardworking, intelligent, safety focused manager which earned him the respect of his co-workers. Bill never asked his employees to do anything he would not do. He was not above putting coveralls on over his suit and tie to figure out a problem in his refinery. Many co-workers over the years became good friends. In his career he traveled several places including Richmond California, Italy, Freeport Grand Bahama Island, El Segundo California, Salt Lake City Utah, Cincinnati Ohio and El Paso Texas. He was employed for 35 years at Standard Oil/Chevron. Bill enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Bill navigated but Norma did all the planning. Bill enjoyed playing golf, bowling and fast pitch softball. He also was involved in any sports his children were interested in.
Passionate and devoted to Norma, Bill held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Norma and her favorite “partner in crime”. Bill brought the same traditional values to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. Education was extremely important to Bill and he encouraged and assisted all his children in attending college. Bill also rallied his family in building a cabin in Frazier Park, California. Bill was blessed with three children, Michael, Judi & Gary. They were also blessed with seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
When Bill’s retirement finally arrived in 1993, he was well prepared. His new life involved relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada. Bill and Norma had a special love for Hawaii and made many trips to the islands. Each year they would split their time between Las Vegas, Kona Hawaii and Frazier Park. Bill and Norma also made several trips to Arizona to attend ASU football games with his brother Paul and wife Judy. Even in retirement, Bill continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. This time with Norma and their beloved Kona friends were the best times of their lives.
William Alonzo Bruner passed away on November 23, 2019 at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by 2 brothers, 3 children, 7 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren. Services were held at Palm Northwest Mortuary in Las Vegas, Nevada. William will be laid to rest in Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada.
