Our
brother Bernard Brunette was born in
Green Bay
on March 5, 1926. After attending
St. Willebrord Parish School, he began at
St.
Norbert High in 1940, but transferred to Central Catholic, from which he was
graduated in 1944. Bernard was vested in the Order that same year and professed
solemn vows in 1949.
As
a simple professed, Bernie taught at the college in 1948, and in 1949 was added
to the faculty of
St.
Norbert High where he taught English and mathematics.
After ordination in 1951, he joined the faculty at Archmere, where he
taught physics and math until 1963. During
those years he held a Dupont Fellowship and in 1957 received a Master’s Degree
in Education from the
University
of
Delaware
. In his final year at Archmere, Bernard was the chairman of the
Delaware
Teachers of Science.
In
1956, Bernard became a valued member of the Norbertine Education and Planning
Committee, becoming chairman in 1969 and serving in that capacity until 1980.
During summer sessions, Bernie attended the
University
of
Connecticut
, where he studied under a National Science Foundation Grant.
Returning
to the Midwest, Bernard taught physics at Pennings High from 1963 until 1980,
spending his summers at the
University
of
San Diego
,
Florida
State
University
and the
University
of
California, Berkeley.
During this time he was also Chairman of the
Green Bay
Diocesan Teachers of Science.
1980
marked the beginning of Bernie’s pastorate of
St. Joseph
Parish on the Beltline in
Madison
, where he served for 21 years. In 1984 he was added to the
Madison
Priests’ Senate. Instilling within his parish the theological
underpinnings of the Second
Vatican
Council and renovating the liturgical space to meet its demands marked his
pastorate.
Bernie’s
love of travel took him to many foreign lands for sightseeing and study.
His open and inquiring mind, especially in the sciences, kept him on his
toes with the modern scientific advances.
He loved games, especially bridge, cribbage, chess, and Scrabble.
In his later years, he earned the
title of “King of Scrabble” by regularly trouncing anyone who would compete
with him. Known
for his hospitality, Bernard possessed an affable and amicable personality and
was a great conversationalist. Slowed
in his later years by the devastating effects of diabetes, Bernard died on
Friday, November
26, 2004 at the age of 78.
