John Bruns ’78, RN, CRNA
Alex Bruns ’00, RN, CRNA
Johnathan Bruns ’02, RN, CRNA
Amanda Rouse Bruns ’03, RN, CRNA
Maryann Bruns Dean ’04, RN, CRNA
Kendall Bruns ’22, RN, MSN-FNP
We all received a great education from caring professors that made a difference in our lives. It is a great honor for us to have graduated from such a highly regarded institution as the University of Mobile.
-John Bruns ’78
If you have had surgery in Mobile, Alabama, chances are one of the last things you saw before the anesthesia took effect was a member of the Bruns family. This family of five Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and one Family Nurse Practitioner got their start at the University of Mobile School of Nursing.
John Bruns wasn’t expecting to start a family tradition when he enrolled at then-Mobile College back in the ’70s. He had earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from The Citadel in 1972, then he and Cindy married. After four years serving in the United States Army, John decided to pursue a career in health care, and the couple moved to Mobile where Cindy had family.
John completed UM’s associate degree in nursing in 1978, becoming a registered nurse. That education provided him the foundation to pursue additional training as a nurse anesthetist. Their children – Alex Bruns ’00, Johnathan Bruns ’02, and Maryann Bruns Dean ’04 – followed in their father’s footsteps, each graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Their daughter-in-law, Amanda Rouse Bruns ’03, met Jonathan at the University of Mobile while both were in the BSN program. Alex’s daughter, Kendall Bruns, took a different path in the health care field and graduated in 2022 with a Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner.
That made three generations of the Bruns family to graduate from the University of Mobile School of Nursing in the College of Health Professions.
“We all received a great education from caring professors that made a difference in our lives,” John said. “It is a great honor for us to have graduated from such a highly regarded institution as the University of Mobile.”
The Christ-centered foundation they received in the University of Mobile School of Nursing prepared them to care for the whole person – to comfort patients emotionally and spiritually while also responding to their physical needs.
Maryann said the caring attitudes of her instructors at UM have had a great impact on the way she has taken care of her patients and their families throughout her career.
“I feel that God has placed us all in the health care field for a reason, and I am honored He chose this path for me and our family,” Maryann said.
Kathy Dean uses her passion for storytelling and “playing with words” to share the stories of people, place and purpose that make the University of Mobile unique. As associate vice president for university communications, she manages media relations, edits the TorchLight alumni magazine, and oversees university communications. A former award-winning journalist, she is a two-time recipient of the Baptist Communicators Association grand prize for feature writing. Kathy and her husband, Chuck, live with three extremely loud miniature schnauzers.