Theodore "Bud" H. Bruhn

Theodore "Bud" H. Bruhn, age 99, of Glenwood, died on Monday, November 25, 2019, at Glenwood Village Care Center. A funeral service celebrating Bud's life will take place on Monday, December 2nd at 11:00 A.M. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grove Lake with Pastor Ron Jobe officiating. Visitation will be from 3:00 - 5:00 P.M. on Sunday at the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood and will continue at the church on Monday morning, one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in Grove Lake Cemetery, Grove Lake, MN. Arrangements are with Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home of Glenwood.

Theodore “Bud” Herman Bruhn was born on April 7, 1920, in Alberta, MN. He was the 4th of 8 children born to Herman and Kathleen (Heuer) Bruhn. Bud grew up on the family farm near Lake Emily in Waldon Township, which is located in Pope County, between Starbuck and Hancock. He attended country school through the 8th grade and then helped his father and his Uncle Pete farm. In the 1930’s, he worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a work relief program that gave millions of young men employment on environmental projects during the Great Depression.

As a young man, Bud was drawn to a cute gal on a neighboring farm. Her name was Ella Mae Sievert. She and Bud worked together at Parker House in Glenwood before their engagement and wedding on June 18, 1941. They first made their home in Saint Paul, MN, where Bud worked for a foundry. Less than five months after they married, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, thrusting the United States into World War II. Bud was drafted into the U.S. Army in April of 1942. After basic training, Ella moved to wherever Bud was stationed in the U.S. One of those places was Clovis, New Mexico, where the two lived for an extended period of time. Bud was eventually activated to combat duty in Italy, where he fought in the North Apennines Campaign along the Po Valley, the ninth-most lethal American battle by estimated number of Americans killed (8,486 killed). Feeling lucky to have survived, he returned to the U.S. and, after his honorable discharge he and Ella settled in Glenwood, eventually purchasing a farm near Grove Lake in 1952.

After moving to their farm, Bud and Ella were blessed with the birth of their son, Roger. The first 27 years on the farm they earned their living raising, tending and milking dairy cows. The installation of an irrigation system on their property in 1964 enabled them to switch to cash crop farming, growing potatoes, green beans and corn for Green Giant. Ella died in 1985, after 43 years of marriage. Bud continued to reside on the farm until 2018 when he moved to Ridgewood Villa, then Parkview Court, and eventually Glenwood Village Care Center, where he died on Monday, November 26, 2019, having lived to the age of 99 years.

Bud was a member of the Grove Lake Township Board for 25 years. He was also a member of the National Farmer’s Organization, the Glenwood American Legion and VFW, as well as a longtime member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Grove Lake.

Bud was an avid and accomplished outdoorsman whose hobbies included year round fishing and hunting. As much as he loved participating in those endeavors, he equally enjoyed introducing others to these pastimes (especially fishing). It gave him tremendous joy when one of those individuals caught a nice fish or had a successful hunt. Bud was also a Firearms Safety Instructor and enjoyed growing large gardens each year and then sharing his abundant crops with friends and neighbors. He also had a passion for cards and he loved to dance.

Bud will be remembered for his quick-wit and sense of humor, and as a life-long conservationist, planting countless trees. He was a man who lived life on his own terms and his family is extremely thankful for each of his 99 extraordinary years.

Bud is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Roger and Phyllis Bruhn of Long Prairie, MN; a grandson and his wife, Steven and Marcy Bruhn of DeKalb, IL, and their children, Kayla and Joshua Bruhn; a brother, George (Patricia) Bruhn of St. Paul; as well as many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Herman and Kathleen; his wife, Ella Mae; six siblings, Rudolph (Isabelle) Bruhn, Alvena (Charley) Razink; Clara (Walter) Whitmer; Clarence (Norma) Bruhn, Lillian Scott, and Donald Bruhn.

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