J. Robert Brunner Named 2002 Dairy Science Distinguished Alumnus
J. Robert Brunner was born in Royersford, Montgomery Co., PA to Howard and Nora Brunner on 9/17/18. Royersford, then, an industrial town of 3200 folks is located between Pottstown and Phoenixville. He attended Royersford HS (now Spring-Ford HS) graduating in 1936.
He entered Penn State College in the fall of 1936 and elected Dairy (Manufacturing) as a major, graduating in a class of about 800 in 1940.
He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, serving as Vice President his senior year. He served as an assistant manger to Gene Wettstone’s gymnastic team during his first year as coach. He also served as secretary of the dairy club and was initiated into Gamma Sigma Delta. A note of interest: he had a Senior Seminar class with Professor Andy Borland, then head of the Dairy Department.
Following graduation, he accepted a graduate assistantship with Gene Jack (a Penn State Ph.D. with Chet Dahle) at the Univ. of California, Davis, graduating spring of 1942. In August of 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. navy and served on active duty until January of 1946. He remained active in the Naval reserve, retiring as a Commander after 26 years of service.
After the war he accepted a position as Instructor in the Dairy Department of Michigan State College, now Michigan State University. He participated in a pilot program which allowed instructors to pursue the Ph.D. degree on a part time basis. He was awarded his degree in the spring of 1952. G. Malcolm Trout was his advisor. In approximately 1958 he was transferred to the newly formed Department of Food Science where he remained for the rest of his academic career, retiring in the spring of 1987 with 41 years of service.
He married Jeane Adams, a native of Flint, MI and a graduate of MSU, in 1947. Incidentally, he met Jeane at an ADSA meeting in Ames, Iowa the preceding year and attended the Guelph meeting in 1947 while on their honeymoon. Dairy has been a big part of his and their lives. The Brunners have three adult children: Tom, a web entrepreneur who lives in Sarasota, FL; Barbara, who resides in Sonotia, AZ, with her Arabian show horses and close to her parents in Green Valley; Kathy, who is a special education teacher in the Grand Rapids, MI area.
As previously indicated the Brunners are now living the life of retirees in sunny Arizona. To keep them active they have adopted a rescued Greyhound from the local track.
The Brunners lived for 37 years on a 60 acre minifarm 10 miles from the MSU campus near the village of Williamston, MI. We raised kids, horses, dogs, sheep, chickens, cats and rabbits in addition to the herd of white-tail deer that frequented the corn field. We did a lot of 4-H and Arabian horse shows while the girls were growing up. Obviously there was not much time for Saturday football on campus.
