Brunnier, Henry J. 1882-

Henry John "Bru" Brunnier was born near Manning, Iowa on November 26, 1882. He received his B.S. (1904) in civil engineering from Iowa State College (University). Brunnier went into private practice as a consulting structural engineer (1908-1971). Brunnier quickly became a leader in earthquake-resistant structural design. He was responsible for the structural design of numerous large buildings and bridges along the west coast of the United States. He served as president of the California State Board of Registration for Civil Engineers (1929-1933), president of the Structural Engineers' Association of Northern California, president of the Pacific Association of Consulting Engineers, and was a member of several other professional organizations. Throughout his career, Brunnier was also very active in Rotary International.

Ann Weideman was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1885 and she married Henry Brunnier in 1905. As one of the first women to attend Rotary conventions with her husband, she earned the nickname "Rotary Ann," a name that soon became synonymous with Rotary members' spouses. The Brunniers became interested in art and acquired many pieces of ceramic, glassware, enamelware, jade and ivory throughout their travels overseas. Ann also collected rare dolls from every country they visited. She was a member of the Golden Gate Collectors Club, the San Francisco Doll Club, the Stanford Art Society, and the Metropolitan Art Museum. In 1963, the Brunniers donated their art collection to Iowa State University. Their donation is now part of the permanent collection of the Brunnier Art Museum at Iowa State University. Ann Brunnier died February 20, 1970 and Henry passed away December 10, 1971. They had been married 63 years. The Brunniers had only one son, Henry, Jr., who died in 1935 at the age of 28.

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