Faye Hendrick Brun was born June 28, 1927, in Portland, Maine, and passed away at her home in Shreveport on July 31, 2012 after a lengthy illness. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elmer Roy and Ida Whyte Hendrick, as well as two siblings, June and Warren Hendrick, who died in childhood.
A lifetime lover of nature, she could name all the species of wildflowers native to Maine by early childhood, and often recounted memories of the wonders of growing up in New England to her children and grandchildren. In particular, she loved wild blueberries, and recalled stumbling upon a wild bear in her favorite blueberry patch as a child. After graduation from college preparatory school in Boston, Faye attended Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she earned a dual Bachelor?s degree in English and History and also was certified as a teacher. Soon after, she earned a Master?s Degree in Education from LSU in Baton Rouge, and finally a Doctor of Education from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.
Mrs. Brun married her college sweetheart, Edwin Louis Brun on June 28, 1949, having met him by running tardy for a college class and having to take the last available seat in the lecture hall ? next to him. After their marriage, they moved to Ed?s home state of Louisiana and eventually settled in Shreveport, where Mrs. Brun became greatly involved in the community and education system in Bossier Parish. She taught at Rusheon Junior High for twenty-five years and received the Lillian Pipes Barnum trophy for outstanding American History educator ? a statewide honor given by the Louisiana Society for the Daughters of the American Revolution. In addition to teaching, she was an officer in Kappa Kappa Iota, Phi Delta Kappa, and Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (APEL). She was selected to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as the chairman for Rusheon Junior High and subsequently went on to evaluate many schools in other parishes around the state. Mrs. Brun was one of a select few teachers from across the nation that were invited to survey schools on a fourteen day tour of the Soviet Union which garnered interviews with various media outlets upon her return. Before retirement, Mrs. Brun moved into the position of guidance counselor at Rusheon, and supervised many student teachers over the course of her career, many of whom are now administrators in various parishes. The students of Rusheon selected Mrs. Brun for the Ram-A-Rama yearbook dedication the year of her retirement, showing how loved and respected she was both by her colleagues and her students.
In addition to her travels for educational purposes, Mrs. Brun documented many personal trips in the Shreveport Times and also spoke about her travels periodically through adult education outreach at Centenary College. Of her many domestic and foreign travels, she spoke most fondly of Italy, the Galapagos ? tracking Darwin?s voyage on the Beagle, Kenya, China, the Amazon, and the Soviet Bloc as major points of interest.
Mrs. Brun is survived by her husband of sixty-three years, Edwin L. Brun; two children, The Honorable Roy L. Brun and Dr. Sylvia Brun Gage; three grandchildren, Deidre Gage Rollins and her husband Lucien, Andrew L. Brun, and Blaine M. Brun; and two great-grandchildren, Madelynn Claire Russell and James Douglas Rollins. In addition to her family, she leaves behind a number of special colleagues and countless students whose life she has touched and improved. Mrs. Brun always treasured her Maine heritage, and per her wishes, in due course, she will be returned to the home of her childhood.
The family invites friends to a reception on Saturday morning, August 4th, from ten to noon at Boone Funeral Home on Airline Drive. The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made in Mrs. Brun?s name to the Shriner?s Hospital for Children.