Roger W. Bruns

Abt 1905 - 1996  (91 years)

• Name	Roger W. Bruns
  Born	Abt 1905
  Gender	Male
  Died	25 Nov 1996
  Person ID	I60276	A00 Hoar and Horr Families North America
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2013

  
  

  Family	Ruby Johnson
  Children	1. Living
  Last Modified	14 Jan 2012
  Family ID	F23407	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  [[ Obituary: Portland Press Herald (ME) - November 27, 1996 Deceased Name: ROGER W. BRUNS Roger W. Bruns, 81, owner and operator of Bruns' Esso Station for 35 years, died unexpectedly Monday in a local hospital. From 1942 to 1977, Mr. Bruns ran the busy Esso filling station at Valley and Congress streets near Union Station. ''He was there when the trains were driven with coal,'' said his son, Wayne T. Bruns, referring to the nearby Union Station railway station on St. John Street that was closed in 1960 and torn down in 1961. Mr. Bruns limited his business to the selling of gasoline, oil changes and fixing flat tires. ''The station had a pit instead of a lift,'' said his son, ''and that usually was filled with water.'' Something else he did from his lot was provide guidance to lost drivers. ''He gave out directions more than anything else,'' said his son. ''Some tourists, even though they went by only twice a year, they tooted their horn, because he was there for so many years.'' ''It was a popular station,'' said his daughter, Sherry Horr. ''People all seemed to like him, even though he was a man of few words.'' Mr. Bruns always wore an Esso uniform with a black bow tie, said his daughter, and he put in long days, from early in the morning until whenever he decided to go home. ''It was just the old-time filling station - a little place with a heater in the corner.'' His customers, as well as his friends from the Portland Eagles Club next door, often crowded into the office just to pass the time and talk, said his daughter. Mr. Bruns retired in 1977 after he burned his hands in an accident at the station. The station made way for a medical office building about 1980. He was a member of the Portland Eagles. Born here, a son of Thomas and Admah Goodwin Bruns, he was a 1933 graduate of Deering High School. Mr. Bruns lived for more than 50 years on Mabel Street, and spent summers on Long Island for many years. Surviving are his wife of 60 years, Ruby Johnson Bruns; a son, Wayne T. of Westbrook; a daughter, Mrs. Leon (Sherry) Horr of Cape Elizabeth; four grandchildren, Karen Marcisso, Jason Horr, Robin Doody and Kory Horr; and two great-grandchildren. A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. today in Brooklawn Memorial Park. Arrangements are by Hay & Peabody Funeral Home, 749 Congress St.