Thea Brunsell
Thea Brunsell was a long-time resident of Evansville who moved here in 1955. She was a big city woman who helped create social groups in this small town in order to meet people and make lasting friendships. She also became a committed activist.
She was born in Milwaukee in 1924. She was the youngest child and had two older brothers. Her Dad was of German ancestry, and her mother was Norwegian. Her name, Thea, is Norwegian. Her father, Roy LaBudde, started LaBudde Feed & Grain in the early 1900s and eventually established five warehouses in Germantown, Port Washington, and West Bend. Her mother's grandfather was the first man in the United States to bottle beer. Eventually, he sold his company to Schlitz Brewery.
Thea grew up in Whitefish Bay. After graduating high school, she enrolled at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. She eventually graduated with a major in sociology, but not before tragedy struck her family. Her father was killed in a traffic accident. Since her two brothers were still in the Army, Thea decided to transfer to Downer College in Milwaukee in order to live at home with her mother during this challenging time. After a year, she returned to Michigan for her senior year and graduated with a sociology degree.
After graduation, Thea went to work at Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company in Milwaukee in their significant Personnel and Human Resources Department, which included 70 people. At that time, there were 1400 employees. Her responsibilities included interviewing applicants and helping establish salary ranges for different levels of employees. From there, she went to Marshall & Isley Bank (M&I). At that time, there were three employees in HR. The bank had seventy employees and only one female officer.
At M&I, Thea interviewed people and submitted their info to the General Manager. When asked if that process intimidated her, she replied, "I had no problem interviewing men." Thea has never been a woman that is easily intimidated.
Around this time, Thea was dating a young man that her mother disapproved of. Thea wrote to her brother, Roy, who was a student at Harvard to share her troubles. Roy said, "Don't do anything rash! I have just the man for you".
Shortly after that, she came home from work, and there was a man named Bill Brunsell chatting with her mother in the kitchen. They were having the best time! Thea's first impression was that Bill was "interesting." Obviously, Bill had won over her mother before he even met Thea. In time, he won Thea over, too.
Bill Brunsell had been in the Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. After three years, he was discharged and enrolled at Harvard. Thea's brother, Roy, knew Bill because they were on the same dormitory floor in law school.
Shortly after Bill won her over, Thea’s great aunts sent her to Europe to connect with relatives. Thea traveled in style on the Queen Mary. Before she left, instead of giving Thea an engagement ring, Bill gave her his fraternity pin. Later, when she asked him why he didn't propose to her instead, he replied, "I wanted you to be free on your trip to Europe." Bill must have been very confident in his relationship with Thea. After her return, Bill proposed, and of course, Thea said yes.
When she got engaged after her return from Europe, one of the bank officers asked her to come to his office. He advised Thea: "Don't work after you are married. Stay at home and care for your husband and the babies". Then, the bank president called and asked her to come to his office. He, too, had advice: "Don't get a double bed; get two singles instead. Because if you have a problem, you'll need the second bed."
Thea and Bill began their married life in a little apartment in Milwaukee. Bill was hired by Michael Best & Friedrich, a law firm that still thrives today. It was a prominent firm, but beginning salaries were low, with a promise for a good future. Bill practiced law for 7 years as a corporate attorney in Milwaukee. During this time, they built a home in Bayside and moved there.
In 1951, by which time Thea had stopped working, they had their first child, Annie, followed by her brother Paul two years later. She and Bill decided that two were enough to keep her busy. In 1955, Thea and Bill moved to Evansville, his hometown, so that Bill could go into business with his brother-in-law, Nimmer Adamany. They bought the Grange Store and started two other stores in Janesville. Bill and his brother Bob inherited two farms and bought four more. They established a relationship with Libby's Foods, who planted food crops after the Brunsell brothers had prepped the land. The brothers were among the first farms to have milking machines and irrigators in the Rock City area. Coincidentally, Bill's father, H.F. Brunsell, was a customer of LaBudde Feed & Grain, Thea's father's business.
When they moved to Evansville, Bill and Nimmer had a big sale at the Grange Store, clearing out the old merchandise to make room for new products. The building still has the name Grange Store etched on the front of it. It was a store comprising many departments, including grocery, hardware, toys (my favorite), appliances, ladies' wear, and more. Thea and Bill rented a home on South Third Street owned by a man named Mr. Towles. After a year, Mr. Towles returned, so Thea and Bill had to move out. They decided to engage Marshall Erdman, a friend, to design a house for them on the corner of Sherman Court and Garfield Avenue. They liked the setting so much that they bought the house next door and relocated it, creating room for a family room addition and a large yard.
In the meantime, Thea was busy with her two children and trying to make friends in a small town where she knew no one except her two sisters-in-law, Barbara Adamany and Betty Gray. Her neighbor across the street was Carla Heimerl, whom she considered a sister. Thea and my mother, Diana Eager, were also the best of friends. They visited each other's homes for coffee once or twice a week, each bringing their preschool sons with them. Thea claims that I was such a rascal that they had to retreat to the basement so that Paul and I could horse around without bothering them, but I'm sure she exaggerates. Paul and I clearly remember how well-behaved we were.
At that time - around 1959 - the restaurant options in Evansville were extremely limited. So Thea and some friends formed a supper club. The original members were Thea & Bill, my parents Diana & Alan Eager, Sally & Prent Eager, and Helen & John Wilde. Dinners would rotate between houses, with the hosts providing the main course and the others filling in the rest of the meal. The hosts also had the prerogative to invite a guest. It was an excellent way to meet new people and form lasting friendships.
Thea also helped create the Women's Literary Club, whose original members included Evelyn Thompson, Diana Eager, Sally Eager, Kelly Sumner, and Sonia Nelson. The members would all read the same book beforehand and discuss it at the meeting. They sometimes even had guest speakers. I believe the Club is still thriving today.
Once Anne and Paul were in school - around 1958 - Thea had more free time. She found an outlet at the Evansville Congregational Church on the northwest corner of First and Church Streets. The Church was, and still is, progressive. It was there that Thea became an activist.
She served on various local and state boards of the Congregational United Church of Christ. In addition, she sat on two national boards: one was World Ministries, an organization that works with churches and other mission organizations. The other was Beyond Wars, an anti-war organization that originated in Palo Alto. Her commitment to that Board included giving presentations to city councils, churches, and neighborhood groups throughout Wisconsin. One of her main topics was the tragic consequences of nuclear weapons and what needed to be done to change course. She also led a trip to the Soviet Union to meet with Peace Groups behind the Iron Curtain. "For me, this was the most exciting and satisfying trip of my lifetime," says Thea… but that's another story.
Every year, Bill & Thea would travel overseas. As time passed, Thea suggested skipping the travel for a year and adding a screened-in porch to the house. Bill always replied that since he would die young, it would be better to keep traveling and seeing the world. So they did. Thea didn’t get her screened-in porch until they moved to Oakwood Retirement Facility where each unit includes one. Bill lived to age 93 before passing away. "And now I am thankful for all the traveling we did," admits Thea.
Even at 99, Thea serves on several committees, including the Advisory Board of Oakwood, her retirement home. That Board was influential in the recent hiring of an African-American woman as the new CEO of Oakwood. I'm sure Thea had a strong voice in that decision.
Thea shared with me one of her favorite quotes by Winston Churchill: 'Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts - believe in yourself and never give in.'
Thea's life shows that she has believed in herself no matter what.
