Harry E. Bruner

Harry E. Bruner of Cambridge, Ohio passed away peacefully on Friday July 16, 2021 at 5:22 A.M. surrounded by his family, after a short battle with lung disease.  He was carried into Heaven to be with his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, where he was reunited with family and friends.

Harry was born November 14, 1935 and was raised by his beloved paternal grandmother Ruth Koontz in Cumberland, Ohio.  He attended Cumberland High School.  He would graduate in 1953 from Canton McKinley High School.

Soon after, the Lord used Harry’s future brother in law, Buck Stritz, to introduce Harry to the one love of his life, Alice Marie Stritz of Florence, Ohio, whom he would marry on August 26, 1957.

Harry served his country in the Army being stationed in Germany.  He worked several jobs in his life ranging from dozer operator to life insurance salesman to realtor.  Harry was the owner and cofounder of Bruner Land Company which he incorporated in 1985 and operated until the day of his death.

Harry loved life and making others laugh.  He enjoyed working, gardening, hunting, vacationing, going to church, euchre and spending lots of time with his family.  In everything, he always put his family first.

He was a regular at the Guernsey and Noble County fairs where he enjoyed supporting 4-H.  Through his business, he would often buy the Grand Champion Market Steer or the Reserve Champion Steer, along with many other livestock animals.

Harry was the epitome of positive thinking, working every day until the last days of his life and never giving up.  He would say, “Every evening, make a list everything that you want to get done the next day.  When you do that you will get twice as much done.”

In the 1970s, the Lord was again gracious and sent a door to door evangelist to Harry’s house.  The evangelist asked him, “Harry, you say that you and your wife know the Lord, but what about your children?”  From that day forth, he would take his family to church nearly every Sunday.

Though Harry came from a broken home, he lived a clean life, stayed married and served as a perfect and loving role model for his children.  He brought his family through many difficult circumstances and financial situations, and never ever gave up.

Harry was officially voted the world’s greatest dad and best husband by his family.  He is survived by his beautiful wife of 63 years, Alice Marie Bruner; two sons, Doug Bruner (Becky Schultice), Eric Bruner (Deanna Boyle); three daughters, Diana Steele (David Steele), Lori Garland (Jim Garland), and Sheri Badertscher (Tom Badertsher); brother-in-law and best friend, Dick Davis of Cumberland, Ohio; sister-in-law Agnes Stritz Bailey of Hebron, Ohio; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Buck and Sandy Stritz of Florence, Ohio and many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his two sisters, Cora Lewis and Ruth Davis.

A special thanks to Hospice, for the comfort and excellent care they provided for our dad, and to Charlee Petry, our irreplaceable family friend and caretaker, for her endless hours in helping our dad in his last days

We thank God for His grace and mercy, and the many years and many added years that Harry had with us.  We also thank God for blessing us with a perfect dad and mom.


Visitation will be held Monday July 19th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Stop Nine Church of Christ, Byesville, Ohio where funeral services will be Tuesday July 20th at 11:00 with Evangelist Woody Biggs officiating.  Burial will follow in Center Cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy may be extended to the family at www.black-eppersonfuneralhomes.com

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