Yvonne Brundrett passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Friday, November 20, 2020. She was preceded in death by her husband Tom Brundrett in 2006. Yvonne is survived by sons Bruce (Susann), Jeff (Susan), grandchildren Chris (Katharine) Brundrett, Sarah (Rob) Lowery, Kate and Jake Brundrett, great grandchildren June and Tess Brundrett and Henry and Tom Lowery.
Yvonne was born June 12, 1929 in St. Paul, Minnesota to parents Milton and Lucille Selen. She was a product of the Great Depression, it contributed to her strong work ethic. She was largely raised by her grandmother and aunts as the Depression years forced her parents to work long hours to make ends meet. She spent her early years on a farm in Cambridge, Minnesota. It was there that she began her love of animals and continued throughout her life. She was able to rejoin her parents during her high school years. Upon graduation from Thomas Edison High School she enrolled at the University of Minnesota. She told many stories of working her way through college and was proud of how she self-funded her college education. During college summers she rode the Great Northern Railroad out to Glacier National Park in Montana to work at the Many Glacier Hotel as a waitress. During her time off she hiked the park, she was very proud that she was an excellent hiker and that the boys wanted to hike with her because she had the stamina to hike many miles a day. She was also an excellent musician. She played the saxophone and piano. She was so good on the sax that she was offered to tour with an all-girl’s band. Upon graduation from the University of Minnesota in 1951 she applied for and accepted a teaching position at the American School in Giessen, Germany. It was apparent that Yvonne definitely had the travel bug. It was in Giessen that she met a young 1st Lieutenant, Tom Brundrett. He was from Refugio, Texas and a proud graduate of Texas A&M, Corp of Cadets. It was a whirlwind romance. They got married in Giessen and they proceeded to honeymoon across Europe in a Triumph TR-3. They eventually moved back to the US and their first stateside assignment was at Governor’s Island in New York City. They moved numerous times throughout Tom’s military career. They went on to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, Pusan, Korea, St. Cloud, Minnesota, Tehran, Iran and finally to Ft. Hood, Texas where Tom retired from the Army in 1971. Both Tom and Yvonne began teaching in the Killeen, Texas ISD. Yvonne became indoctrinated into all things Texan. She became a true Texan when she became a football fan. Her true test came one week when she attended the Rancier Junior High football 8th grade game on Tuesday, then again Thursday for the 9th grade game, followed by the Killeen High School Friday night game, followed by the Texas A&M game in College Station on Saturday with a quick drive to Dallas for the finale to watch the Cowboys on Sunday. She passed with flying colors! After long and successful teaching careers they retired and once again began to travel the world. During their time together they were able to say that they had visited all of the continents, Tom reluctantly agreed to go to Antarctica to complete their travel bucket list.
Yvonne and Tom celebrated their 50-year wedding anniversary in 2005. They hosted a weeklong cruise in the Caribbean. Tom passed in 2006. Yvonne was able to build a new home in San Angelo, Texas next to son Bruce and his wife Sue and their family where she lived happily for several years. Yvonne made her final move and settled in Lenexa, Kansas at Lakeview Village close to Jeff and Susan and their family.
Yvonne was a great wife to Tom, a loving mother to Bruce and Jeff, a devoted grandmother to Chris, Sarah, Kate and Jake and finally an enduring great grandmother to June, Tess, Henry and Tom. She will always be truly missed and lovingly cherished.
It was Yvonne’s wish to be cremated and her ashes placed with those of her husband Tom’s at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas. Time for the service is to be determined.
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