After a long bout with cancer, Audrey Bruggeman, 59, died on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at her sister's home in Thief River Falls, MN.


Funeral service will be 10:30 AM, Saturday, September 12, 2009 at Ekelund Lutheran Church in rural Goodridge, MN, with Reverend Robert Dahlen officiating. Burial will be in Ekelund Cemetery.

Visitation will be 5-8 PM, Friday, September 11, 2009 at Johnson Funeral Service, Thief River Falls with a prayer service at 7 PM and one hour prior to the funeral at the church, Saturday.

Audrey Marie Hyland was born November 14, 1949 to Alvin and Arlyne (Uglem) Hyland in Thief River Falls, MN. She grew up on a farm in the Highlanding, MN area. Audrey was baptized at Rosendahl Church and confirmed at Ekelund Lutheran Church. She attended high school in Goodridge, MN, graduating in 1967 and graduated from the University of Alaska in 1985 with a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education. She was pursuing a Masters from St. Thomas University when illness struck.

She was united in marriage to Gary Bruggeman, June 15, 1968 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

Over the 41 years of marriage, she lived in Aberdeen, MD, Goodridge, MN, Fort Lewis, WA, Fort Leonard Wood, MO, Fort Sam Houston, TX, Austin, TX, Fort Meade, MD, Fridley, MN, Edgewood Arsenal, MD, Fort Wainwright, AK, Davenport, IA, La Crescent, MN, Thief River Falls, MN and Cannon Lake (Faribault), MN.

She taught Headstart children in Davenport, IA, Freeburg, Caledonia, Stockton, Faribault, Owatonna and Blooming Prairie, MN. She was also the HUD Director of Skylite Apartments in Thief River Falls and oversaw a massive remodeling of that facility.

Audrey saw many interesting sites during her travels including: glaciers and whales in Alaska, Banff National Park in British Columbia, Niagara Falls, Cape Kennedy Space Center, Statue of Liberty, Washington, DC, Cuba, numerous trips to costal Mexican cities, Mayan ruins in Mexico, Costa Rican jungles and volcanoes in Hawaii. Her favorite adventure was riding a zip line in the jungles, by Manzanillo, Mexico.

She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Gary, Faribault, MN, 2 sons and their families: Guy, Nadine and Lukas Bruggeman, Denton, TX, Jared, Maria, Micah, Logan and Reese Bruggeman, Joplin, MO; mother and step father, Arlyne and Dayton Silk, Thief River Falls, MN; 3 brothers and their families, Alan and Mary Hyland, Thief River Falls, MN, Aldon and Trudy Hyland, Goodridge, MN and Arden and Shelly Hyland, Glenwood, MN; one sister and best friend, Arlette and husband, Virgil Defreece, Thief River Falls, MN

She was preceded in death by father, Alvin Hyland.

Family condolences may be sent to www.johnsonfuneralservice.com

ORGANIST: Tanya Kotrba
SOLOIST: Jane Anderson Soon And Very Soon & Precious Lord Take My Hand
SPECIAL TAPE SELECTION: When I Get Carried Away by Homeward Bound
CASKETBEARERS: Terry Anderson, Dale Anderson, Tim Anderson, Paul Kasprick, Bret Hyland, Glen Jensen
HONORARY CASKETBEARERS: Goodridge Class of 1967, Head Start Co-Workers, & special friend, Mar McDonough