Judith Ann Haley Bruno, born in Lafayette, Indiana, passed away July 29, 2023, in Port St. Lucie, Florida, at the age of 84. Judy was the seventh of eight children, a second-generation American in a family of German and Irish descent. She grew up surrounded by a large, quintessentially midwestern extended family, endless rolling corn fields, and the school and sports teams to which she was a loyal and lifelong fan – Purdue University.
Her childhood was simple and uncomplicated – she often fondly remembered the dairy cows that lived on her grandfather’s farm next to her house and how she used to come home from school every day and head straight for the fence to spend time with them. Her lifelong love of animals began there and she never passed up the opportunity to coo at any critter that crossed her path thereafter.
Judy completed high school in Lafayette then married Purdue graduate Gerald Bruno of Little Silver at the age of 19. They moved around the country for a few years during his time in the Army, eventually settling in Shrewsbury to raise their four children. During this time Judy loved to play tennis, make ceramics and needlework, and spend summers at the beach with friends and family. She was also a Boy Scout den mother, a regular at the ball field wherever her sons were playing, and an all-around friendly neighborhood mom.
The family eventually relocated to Wyckoff in 1979 where she lived until 2020. As her youngest child started high school, Judy decided to pursue a career as an operating room technician, a job she thoroughly enjoyed for about 10 years, after which she worked for her husband’s company.
Judy’s greatest asset was her personality. Her sweet and easygoing nature, down-home midwestern sensibility, enduring strength and spirit and playful sense of humor made her a pleasure to be around. She could always be counted on for an unexpected wisecrack and an explosive burst of laughter and she will be sorely missed by those who knew and loved her.
Judy was predeceased by her husband Gerald Bruno; sisters, Gert Schmidt and Mary Gipson Delaney; and brothers, Francis “Bud” and John Paul “Jack” Haley. She is survived by her sisters, Margaret Rardon and Barb Harless; her brother Pat Haley; her children, Pat (wife Christine), Jerry, Chris, and Cindy Bruno; her grandchildren, Nick, Allison, Jake and Mila; plus many nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11 at John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Ave., Red Bank. Interment will take place immediately after at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 100 Chapel Hill Road in Middletown. Condolences can be sent to johnedayfuneralhome.com.
The article originally appeared in the August 10 – 16, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
