By Edna Brune's formula,
she is not a senior citizen.
"I had my second 40th
birthday and I just had my
first year on my third 40,"
she said recently.
Those few years, however,
were enough to grow up in
Georgia, head north, head
south, and return to the
Peach State.
Today she stays busy
delivering clothing,
newspapers and whatever
to residents of the Thomson
Health & Rehabilitation
Center.
She met her first
husband while working in
Chattanooga, Tenn.
"He was from Mississippi
and I'm from Rossville,
Ga.," she said. "Right down
below Missionary Ridge.
And the sun went down
below Lookout Mountain
and that was my whole
world."
"My late husband was with
DuPont so we transferred
around a little bit," she said.
The family moved from
Chattanooga to Richmond,
Va., to Wilmington, Del.
"I had beauty salons at one
time, then my arm gave me a
little trouble so I went into a
travel agency," she recalled.
The salon was Circle of
Beauty, in Richmond, Va.
Her first husband died in
Delaware, where she later
met Herman C. "Chuck"
Brune. They both were
widowed in 1976 and
married in 1978. "We sort
of promised each other a
50th anniversary, "she said.
Edna and Chuck, a New
Yorker, moved south in
1980 and lived in Florida
for 22 years. "We went to
Mississippi where I had
some property, and we lived
there for I guess about seven
years before (Hurricane)
Katrina. And then along
came Katrina and we
volunteered there 24/7
nearly until the following
May."
When they started looking
to move again, they thought
about being closer to the
children, but the children are
scattered from Washington,
D.C., to Washington state.
A niece, Sandy Colson of
Appling, helped her find
a new home in Thomson.
"She said 'Aunt Edna, tell
me what you want and
I'll have you a house in a
week,'" Edna said.
"Being from Georgia
originally, it took me seven
moves to get back," she
said.
Because she had been
teaching children since
1961, she began teaching
Sunday school again. Then
Chuck and Edna decided to
teach a couples' class. That
branched into a Sunday
school at the health center,
and that led to a ministry of
meeting residents' material
needs, too.
"During the week I give out
free papers and magazines and anything else I can do to
make them happy," she said.
She clips coupons and
looks for bargains to donate
to Manna Inc., a food
ministry. "A lot of times they
get the pasta but don't get the
sauce, so they like to have
that, too," she said.
She picks up newspapers
at The McDuffie Mirror and
The McDuffie Progress and
delivers them to the health
center. On Sundays, she
collects slightly worn copies
of The Augusta Chronicle
from her friends and from
two boxes at First Baptist
Church. She takes them
home, straightens them,
and takes them to the health
center.
And Chuck follows on all
the errands. "Shopping's not
one of his favorite pastimes,
but he goes along," Edna
said.
Residents need clothing,
too, she said. She said stores
don't give away out-of-season
clothing, but they
give her pretty good deals.
"I bought a whole rack,"
she said. "It was between
seasons and they practically
give them to you."
She says she gets plenty of
help. "I get the word out,"
she said. Some of the people
she visits have difficulty
finding clothing that fits. But
someone will come forward.
"One guy likes nothing
but khaki, and when I see
somebody at church wearing
that I say 'When you're
ready to get rid of those, I'll
take them,'" she said.
"It makes me very happy
to make somebody else
happy," she said. "Nobody is
over there because they want
to be."
The Sunday school class
also will give money when
needed. One resident was
strapped to pay a $40 cleaning charge, and the
class paid the bill.
She said she shops
carefully. "I'm not gonna
spend over maybe $200 a
month."
Kathy Morgan also teaches
the Bible class at the manor.
"We have seen up to 49
people in there," Edna said.
Morgan's husband, Glenn
"Peaches" Morgan, is active
in the men's outreach class
she said.
That group helps shut-ins
by changing light bulbs or
building wheelchair ramps.
As for Chuck, Edna said,
"He certainly supports me in
everything."
