Charlene Petersen Brunner, age 70, passed away on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at her home in Abraham, Utah. She was born on April 19, 1945, in Delta, Utah to Joseph Clifferd and Erma Tolbert Petersen. She lived in Abraham for the majority of her life. She graduated from Delta High School and the Salt Lake Trade Technical Institute both in 1964. She married the love of her life, Clair Orlo “Pete” Brunner, on February 12, 1966 in Delta, Utah. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Charlene was a lifelong member of the LDS Church and held various positions in the church including teaching in Sunday School, Primary, and Relief Society and as a visiting teacher, but her favorite calling was as the genealogy class teacher. Charlene had a deep love for family history and genealogy. In her early life, she spent countless hours at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. Later in life she continued doing genealogy from her home computer. In addition to genealogy, Charlene loved to go camping and fishing and spent many summers camping in the Uinta Mountains near Mirror Lake with her family and her brother, Arnold’s family. Later she and Pete were campground hosts in the same area. She also loved growing a garden and canning and preserving food.

Charlene was an extremely fast typist and would often jam her IBM Selectric Typewriter because she typed faster than it could keep up. She used her typing and secretarial skills to support her family after complications of diabetes disabled her husband, Pete. She owned her own secretarial services business, Pro Secretarial Services, while living in Salt Lake City. After moving back to Abraham, she worked as a secretary for Bechtel at the Intermountain Power Plant. Her husband passed away on June 4, 1984. It was shortly thereafter, she inhaled a rare fungal spore. That event changed her life forever. First it lodged in her brain causing an abscess which necessitated brain surgery and then a stringent and long antibiotic treatment plan. Unfortunately, Charlene had numerous drug allergies and it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotics that ultimately caused her debilitating stroke. Despite a poor prognosis after stroke she was determined to be able to continue her life independently and she did. She never let her physical limitations stop her from doing anything she determined she was going to do. She was a true example of enduring to the end and she did it with a smile on her face and would not hesitate to tell you she was, “pretty good” whenever she was asked.

The thing Charlene loved most was her family and her idea of family included much more than just her children. Being the youngest of ten children she had a very special relationship with her numerous nieces and nephews over her lifetime. She also loved animals, a love that began as a child, and carried on throughout her life.

Charlene is survived by her children: Jamey (Gordon) Richardson, West Wendover, Nevada; Bryce (Sara) Brunner, Clinton, Utah; Crystal (Gerry) Tarling, Phoenix, Arizona; Clair “Pete” (Ruth) Brunner, Sparks, Nevada; Bud (Tesha) Brunner, Nephi, Utah; CharelLynn (Gary) Clymens, West Wendover; Nevada, and Merrill James “JJ” (Michelle) Petersen, Fillmore, Utah; 23 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren; two brothers: Arnold (Patsy) Petersen, Hurricane, Utah; and Wayne (JoAn) Petersen, Wilcox, Arizona; numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family members. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband: Clair Orlo “Pete” Brunner; her parents, and five brothers: Herald Petersen, Donald “Bud” Petersen, Warren Petersen, Earl Petersen and Merrill Petersen; and two sisters: Colona Bennett and LoRaine Adams.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2016, at 11:00 a.m., at the Sutherland LDS Church, 2620 North 3000 West. Viewings will be held on Wednesday evening, 7:00-8:00 p.m., at the Nickle Mortuary; and Thursday, 9:30-10:40 a.m., prior to the service. Burial will be on Friday, February 5, at 11:00 a.m., in the Mount Olivet Cemetery, 1342 East 500 South, Salt Lake City.