Alice was born nine years before the Great Depression. Her
father, Howard (aka Pop), was a railroad engineer. Pop started on the B&O railroad at 15 years old and retired after 50 years. The family – Grandma (we grandkids called her Gaga) and Pop and Alice's three brothers and two sisters – weathered the hard times of the great depression pretty well as the rail road kept on rollin' along.
As she grew up Alice aspired to be a school teacher. But instead, at her mother's insistence, she became a Registered Nurse.

Then came WWII and Alice entered the US Navy. She served as a nurse in the Philadelphia Naval Hospital and in the Marine hospital in Quantico, VA. She was subsequently transferred to sea duty aboard the USS Benevolence (AH-13) hospital ship.
Aboard the U.S.S. Benevolence Alice cared for emaciated and abused US military personnel released from Japanese POW camps. She, along with the rest of the entire ship became infected with lice and fleas. In Tokyo harbor, Alice witnessed General MacArthur sign the peace treaty with Japan.

During that time, Alice met crew member John Bruning. She married him several years later. They remained married 58 years.

For 30 years Alice and John lived in Virginia Beach, VA, where they raised their son, Wes.
In nearby Norfolk, VA, Alice worked for several years as a "visiting nurse" going to homes to care for lower-income families.

Alice was very active with The 700 Club founded by Pat Robertson. Early on, Alice became a director of the phone ministries and served for many years during which CBN grew and moved from Portsmouth, VA, to their current location in Virginia Beach. She impacted lives and helped expand the Lord's Kingdom.

In 1989 Alice and John left Virginia and headed west for Oregon to be close to their new granddaughter, RoseAnna. Alice settled in as a grandmother and an active member of her church.

John died in 2005. Since that time Alice chose to live alone at her home in Oregon City.
She loved to talk about her experiences in the Navy, of being " 'board ship" and of serving the Lord with The 700 Club.

Alice was devoted to her family and kept up with her brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews who were distributed from Pennsylvania to Florida (with a couple more in Tennessee).

Throughout her life she prayed continuously and sought the Lord in everything she did.
Alice was active and mentally alert right up to the end – although the memory was starting to fade. Even so, people were amazed that a 100+ year old was as active as she continued to be.