Claremore lost a rare and gentle man when Mike Brunson died at his home following a valiant battle with cancer. He was 63. Mike was born the eighth child of Odes and Ora Lee (Hopkins) Brunson. He attended Inola schools graduating with the class of 1961, representing his classmates as their valedictorian. In addition to being on the state honor roll all four years, he won an academic award, the American Legion certificate, the State Science Fair Medal, and was ranked in the top two percent of the Junior Master Farmers in the state of Oklahoma. Very well-rounded, Mike's accomplishments went from the classroom to the basketball court to his father's lumber business where he was the bookkeeper. Mike's unwavering belief in setting goals and working hard to attain them took him not only to the top of his class, but also to the top of his profession. In 1966 he became an agent for Farmers Insurance. Three short years later, a Claremore Progress Business Review edition acknowledged not only that Mike's company offered a full line of insurance, but that it was the sixth largest Farmers group in the United States. The highest accomplishment in the company, the President's Council, was a position Mike earned in the late ‘70's. Doubly gratifying, this award represented not only his outstanding sales and service but also the recognition of excellence by his peers. Whenever he got away from the rigors of his business, Mike enjoyed his hobbies of fishing and cheering on his OSU Cowboys, but these too took a back seat to his service to his community and church. He contributed as a member of both the Kiwanis and the Lions' Clubs. He also served on the City Council, first selected and then elected to the position that brought him the responsibility of assisting with the writing of Claremore's first city charter, this referred to as a freeholder position on the Council. A member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Mike served on the vestry, and was a lay reader and treasurer there. Quiet and honorable, Mike's gentle and kind heart made him not only a well-respected man in the community, but a dearly loved family man. The proud father of two daughters and a son, Mike and Sharon Lambert married on Nov. 15, 1985, in a Pryor ceremony and for the last 21 years, they have shared the joys of their children and grandchildren. Mike was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Maggie Hazelwood, and his son, Darin.