John A. Brueni, 96, Dickinson, died Monday, May 23, 2016 at CHI St. Alexius, Dickinson. John’s funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, with Pastor Donovan Kack officiating. Interment will take place at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Military honors will be provided by the Belfield American Legion William C. Blair Post #144. Visitation will be on Tuesday one hour prior to services.
John was born October 21, 1919 on a farm west of Dickinson. He was the son of Swiss immigrants, Emil and Marie (Schwartz) Brüne. He had five sisters, Rose Butler, Ida Butler, Emma Bock, Martha Hoffman and Edna Hansel, and one brother, Emil that have preceded him in death, thus making him the last surviving child.
In 1942, John joined the United States Navy and served his country aboard the USS Bushnell, a submarine tender. He was stationed in the South Pacific and saw Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, China, and the Philippines. He was a cook on the ship. After the war, he returned to the farm and worked with his brother, Emil. In 1947 he earned his pilot’s license and one of his jobs was a solo flight from Wichita, Kan. to Dickinson to deliver a brand new Cessna.
On June 15, 1948 John married Belfield native Eva Marie Jakubowsky in New England. They had six children, Leland, David, Bonnie, LaDonna, Gary and Dennis. John was a pioneer in North Dakota in raising and breeding Charolais cattle. He made trips to Missouri and Colorado to purchase breeding stock. John’s herd provided seed stock for some of the best Charolais herds in the area.
In 1974 he purchased a small farm in northeastern Missouri and continued raising his cattle. The home farm in North Dakota was leased out, and in 1977 John sold the Missouri farm. His passion for cattle continued when he returned to his farm in North Dakota, and John experimented with other breeds including Gelbvieh, Tarentaise, and most recently Salers cattle.
John is survived by his wife, Eva, of Park Avenue Villa in Dickinson; their children, Leland Brueni, Tinton Falls, N.J., David (Cindy) Brueni, Oro Valley, Ariz., Bonnie (Francis Schoeder) Brueni, Chicago, Ill., LaDonna (James) Higgins, St. Louis, Mo., Gary Brueni, Dickinson, and Dennis (Melanie) Brueni, Tigard, Ore.; grandchildren, Jared Brueni, Catherine (Irwin) Leopando, Austin Schoeder, Maureen Higgins, Sonya Higgins and Hannah Wiegle; two great-grandchildren; and one sister-in-law, Vilma Brueni. He was preceded in death by his parents; granddaughter, Attessa Brueni; and all of his siblings.
