Carl H. Bruning Sr.

Carl H. Bruning, Sr., 96, of Show Low, AZ, passed away peacefully on April 4, 2024.

Carl was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1927, to Heinrich and Gertrude Bruning. As a young boy, he enjoyed being in the Boy Scouts, flying in the local glider club and rowing on the Paraná River. Carl and his younger brother, Alfredo, were fluent in Spanish, German and English. After high school, he became an apprentice at the engineering firm AEG, doing technical drawings for transformers.

In 1954, Carl immigrated to the United States and became a naturalized citizen. Carl met the love of his life, Anna Mae, in 1955, while at a square-dance. They were married in March 1956, at Grace Lutheran Church in Phoenix. Carl and Anna Mae were eager to start a family. They were blessed with two daughters and two sons, Diana, Carla, Carl Jr. and Hans.

Every summer, Carl leveled the ground so that the children could enjoy an above-ground swimming pool. He drove the girls to their 4-H meetings and to volunteer at St. Luke’s hospital in the ‘72 Suburban. He built model rockets with Carl Jr. and helped Hans with his paper route. He built hutches for the Dutch rabbits and allowed the kids to have a variety of critters, including a pet skunk, Persian cats and a German Shepard. He loved tropical fish and conveyed that passion to Hans with stories of the fish in Argentina.

Carl Sr. was passionate about his work and had an incredible career as a Mechanical Engineer. He worked on air conditioning systems for commercial buildings, designed fire-suppression systems, surveyed towers for electric power distribution and worked on Caterpillar diesel generators at Empire Machinery. Dad’s favorite position was as a Mechanical Engineer at Luke Air Force Base, where he retired with a GS-12 rank. One of his former bosses said Carl was “a brilliant engineer!” Carl loved traveling to Germany and the Czech Republic with son Carl Jr., and grandson Nick, and also to “Middle Earth” (New Zealand), with son Carl Jr., and granddaughter Kendra. Dad loved his trip to Alaska with son, Hans, aboard the boat “Catalyst,” where he saw amazing wildlife, including humpback whales.

We were truly blessed to have had such a wonderful father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. We will miss him dearly, but his memory will live on in the hearts of all those who loved this incredible man.

Carl was preceded in death by his wife, Anna Mae. He is survived by his daughters, Diana (Bob) and Carla; sons, Carl Jr. and Hans; grandchildren, Nick (Erin), Kendra and Rebecca and great-grandchildren, Demi, Clare, Lily and Gabriel.

A graveside service for Carl will be held Friday, April 26, from 1 - 1:30 PM at Greenwood Memory Lawn, 719 N. 27th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009.