BRUTON C. Michael Bruton, Jr., 58, died peacefully on Thursday, May 13, 2004, after a three year battle with cancer. His loving wife and the love of his life, DeDe, was at his side. Mr. Bruton was born New Year’s Day, 1946 in Columbia, SC. He graduated from The Citadel in 1967 where he was a Dean’s List student and Editor-in-Chief of The Sphinx, the college yearbook. He held an Air Force ROTC contract and received several other scholarships. He was in the 1967 edition of Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the USAF in June 1967. Following his undergraduate studies, he was awarded a teaching assistantship to attend the University of South Carolina, and graduated with an MBA in 1968. At USC, he was Advertising Editor of the yearbook staff and was elected to the Blue Key Honor Fraternity. In September 1968 he was assigned to the 405th Fighter Wing stationed at Clark Air Base in The Philippines. As a result of his logistics responsibilitie s, he traveled ”in country to Vietnam and other SE Asia locations on a regular basis and was frequently subject to hostile fire. At Clark, he was elected as president of the base-wide Junior Officer’s Council. Later he was stationed at Langley AFB, Virginia for the remainder of his military commitment. Returning to civilian life, he moved to Jacksonville to join the regional office of Prudential Insurance, as a Financial Analyst. Shortly thereafter however, the recession caused by the Arab Oil Embargo forced Prudential to consolidate its loan operations into its Newark, NJ office. Having found ”sand in his shoes, Mr. Burton joined the U.S. Treasury Department, where he served for more than 34 years, earning numerous awards, citations, promotions and commendations. He retired in 2003. In 1976, he became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and held that designation the rest of his life. In 1982, he earned a Master’s in Accounting degree from UNF. Michael believed in servic e to the community and volunteered with the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Big Brothers, Citadel Volunteers, Multiple Sclerosis, Prevent Blindness, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society and numerous other charitable organizations. He was a two-term president of the Northeast Florida Citadel Club, most recently serving as its treasurer. He served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the St. John’s River City Band. A life-long Episcopalian, Mr. Bruton was most recently an active member at San Jose Episcopal Church. He was an usher and had served as a member of the Vestry. Mr. Bruton is survived by his loving wife, Diane A. Bruton; his daughter, Jeanne L. Bruton; dear aunt Mary Jamar Lafaye of Columbia, SC; brothers and sisters-in-law, Bill (Belinda) Hickman of Beaumont, TX and Jan (Kurt) Schopfer of Chuluota, FL; numerous cousins, nephews and nieces and many dear loving friends. A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM on Monday, May 17th, at San Jose Episc opal Church, with The Reverend Frank Taylor and the Rev. David Barr officiating. The family will receive friends from 6-8 PM on Sunday, May 16th, at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 4115 Hendricks Avenue. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in his name to San Jose Episcopal Church, 7423 San Jose Blvd. Jacksonville, FL 32217; The Citadel Foundation, 171 Moultrie St., Charleston, SC 29409; or The St. John’s River City Band, 8159 Arlington Exp. Ste. 28, Jacksonville, FL 32211.
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