Ronald Bruer

Funeral services for Ronald Bruer of Morris, Minnesota, formerly of Appleton, Minnesota, will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John’s Catholic Church in Appleton, with Father Jeremy Kucera serving as celebrant. Visitation will be Friday, January 8, 2021 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.  Burial will be at Appleton City Cemetery in Appleton.

There will be a live stream of Ronald’s service starting at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 9th.  To view the service on the Pedersen Funeral Home website, scroll to the bottom of Ronald’s page and click the link.

While maintaining social distancing guidelines, we are now able to accommodate gatherings of up to 250 people. The use of face masks by attendees is required, and we will continue taking the necessary steps to keep our facility clean. For those who prefer or require continued precautions, webcasting and/or livestreaming is available in most situations.

Ronald Bruer, son of Marvin and Myrtle (Hagen) Bruer was born on November 18, 1933 on a farm in Synnes Township near Alberta, Minnesota. He grew up and attended country school at District 24 and graduated from Alberta High School in 1951. Following school, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served three years in Germany and France. He was honorably discharged and returned to farming with his dad. He was united in marriage to Nancy Banken on January 21, 1961 at St. John’s Catholic Church in Appleton, Minnesota. The couple then moved to a farm place by Alberta. On February 14, 1966, they moved to a farm North of Appleton where they raised their seven children, and continued farming. After retirement from farming, Ronald worked for Lawn and Driveway Service Inc., West Central Implement in Morris for several years, and later worked for the City of Appleton mowing cemeteries. He also helped farm with his son-in-law, David Gades.  In 2017 Ronald and Nancy moved to Morris and Ron continued to live in Morris for the rest of his life.

He was a member of the St. John’s Catholic Church in Appleton, and the Hegbert Township Board. He enjoyed fishing, playing with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who frequently called him by his nickname: “Doo-Doo”. He could always be counted on to have candy in his pockets. Ron also loved to be outside, mowing, gardening, watering flowers, tinkering around and fixing things, even if they weren’t broken! Other hobbies of Ron include roller-skating, dancing, watching polka dancing reruns, playing cards, racing cars, and cheering on Minnesota sports teams as well as watching his grandchildren and great-grandchildren’s sporting events.

Ronald passed away Monday, January 4, 2021 at the St. Could Hospital in St. Cloud.  He was 87 years old.

He is survived by his wife Nancy, of Morris; seven children: Laurie (Randy) Henneberg of Appleton, Julie (Jerrie) Lund of Alexandria, Kevin Bruer of Fargo, ND, Dawn (David) Gades of Holloway, Doug (Annette) Bruer of Fargo, ND, Jeff Bruer of West Fargo, ND and Jodi (Chris) Thurk of Lakefield; three brothers: LuDean (Rita) Bruer, Myron Bruer, and Victor (Carol) Bruer, all of Morris, Minnesota; 19 grandchildren: Todd (Amanda) Henneberg, Kelli (Dylan) Olson, Cory Henneberg, Ashley (Blake) Thompson, Brett (Jennifer) Lund, Callie Lund, Josh (Danielle) Gades, Nathan (Nicole) Gades, Courtney Gades, Taylor (Alex) Volberding, Michelle Bruer, Emily Bruer, Jasmine (fiancé Daniel Wilkins) Bruer, Braxton Bruer, Jordan Bruer, Megan (Eric) Seifert, Lindsey (Jon) De Graaf, Brandon Thurk, and Jeremy Thurk; 16 great-grandchildren; and several brothers and sisters-in-law. He is preceded in death by his parents; infant granddaughter: Stephanie Thurk; sisters-in-law: Joan Bruer and Fern Bruer; brothers-in-law: Ted Banken Jr. and Greg Banken.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS THE FAMILY PREFERS MEMORIALS THAT WILL BE DISTRIBUTED IN RONALD’S NAME TO LOCAL CHARITIES.

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in charge of the arrangements.  To send condolences to the family please visit www.pedersenfh.com.