Kathleen Brueckner Obituary

Kathleen 'Kay' Patton Brueckner was born to Marion Lofton Patton and Edna Rebecca Womack Patton in 1937. She is survived by her beloved husband of 64 years, Peter Brueckner, her siblings Michael Patton (Nancy) and Robert Patton (Linda), children Alfred Robert Brueckner, Frank Brueckner (Rita), Marlene Corbett (Randy), and Karin Thomas (Wayne), grandchildren Nathan Corbett, Michael Thomas, and Rebecca Thomas, and great-grandchild Jackson Louis Corbett. Kay was an extraordinary woman - a person of great warmth, wit, generosity, intellectual curiosity, fidelity to her family and friends, and faith in God. Her husband Peter was the love of her life. The two met when Kay, still an undergraduate at Tulane University, traveled abroad to West Germany. They quickly fell in love, were married, and began a family together, living for several years in New Orleans while Peter finished his doctorate at Tulane. The young family then re-settled in Norman, Oklahoma, where Kay and Peter spent the rest of their married life together. Kay and Peter were closest friends and companions in many adventures: from caring for their family, hiking national parks, exploring European cities, leading groups at their church, tending to friends, reading voraciously, and discussing everything from ancient China to contemporary politics over long breakfasts. Very rarely does one find a marriage with a love as tender, patient, and solidly built as theirs. Kay was a generous mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Caring for these members of her family was a particular delight for her. Summers were full of family road trips crisscrossing the country, hiking mountains, and exploring lakes, watching Iranian and German films, playing badminton, hauling grandkids to swimming lessons or paleontology exhibitions, hunting down good books, and Kay's recounting stories of adventures growing up in Memphis with her two brothers or recalling biking with Peter across Europe and their visit to Morocco. In addition to loving her family so generously, Kay was also a natural teacher and served for much of her life in different roles as an educator. She taught social studies, current events, and for many years English as a second language to international students at the University of Oklahoma, as well as Sunday school at church. She treasured her students, delighted in their success, and could still recall students' names and recount particularly exciting or successful lesson plans even decades later. Kay loved learning and devoured books about China, espionage, and the Soviet Union. She also read heaps of novels (some of which she read aloud to grandchildren over the years). She cared deeply about handing on the faith, ensuring that her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren knew about God's love for them, teaching them to pray and reading them Bible stories. Kay was also a devoted friend. It is remarkable how many people Kay befriended and how many of her friendships spanned decades: from work colleagues, church members, neighbors, staff at restaurants, and university professors. Kay was magnetic. She was capable of putting people at ease, listening and remembering what friends told her, and laughing easily. She and her husband Peter also cared for and assisted many of their friends faithfully for years: checking in on them, helping older friends manage transportation and medical needs, and often visiting friends and inviting them to meals. Kay also dearly loved and supported the University of Oklahoma football team and all Sooner sports in general, delighting in Oklahoma's general sporting supremacy. In short, we grieve the loss of such a wonderful woman. She was a gift from God to us. Kay has gone to meet Jesus, whom she loved so much. We hope and trust that God will receive her in mercy and love, and we long for the day when we rejoice together and we see Kay - Oma, Mama - once more, saints among the saints in the halls of Heaven. A visitation for Kathleen will be held Friday, October 13, 2023 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Primrose Funeral Service, 1109 North Porter Ave, Norman, OK 73071. A funeral service will occur Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church, 603 Classen Blvd, Norman, OK 73071. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www. primrosefuneralservice. com for the Brueckner family.