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Phyllis Ruth Bruce, accomplished musician, writer and administrator, and devoted wife and mother, died peacefully on Monday, November 8, 2010 in the hospice unit of Middlesex Hospital after a prolonged struggle with pancreatic cancer. Phyllis was born on December 8, 1940 in Derby, Connecticut, the first child of June Larson Behuniak and the late Phillip Behuniak. She attended Mattatuck Community College in Waterbury and Wesleyan University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in music and masters in American studies. As a performer and scholar, she is best known for her work with the songs of American women, particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She is the author of several short articles in the Grove Dictionary of American Music. Her master's thesis was on the life and work of composer Carrie Jacobs Bond. For many years she worked on a biography of Mrs. Bond, left unfinished at the time of her passing. She also was well-known for her performances of the music of her husband, Neely Bruce. She sang in major premieres of works by Pauline Oliveros, Henry Brant, William Brooks and many other America composers. The late John Cage considered her performance of his "Song Books" definitive.
She was the Associate Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan from the fall of 1976 to the spring of 1984, and also worked in real estate and property management. Since 1997 she served as co-director of music at South Congregational Church in Middletown. With her husband she wrote a series of three church musicals: "Cousins," "Brothers and Sisters," and "Parents." The first part of "Cousins" will be presented in her memory at South Congregational Church on Sunday December 12 at 10:00 am
She is survived by her husband; her mother; four sisters, Joan Yelding, Virginia Barnes, Sandra Tarbox, and Helene Larson; a brother, James Behuniak; seven children, Karen Curley, June Burns, Jacqueline Cubeta, Frederick Mackowitz, Richard Bruce, Lucile Bruce and Meriwether Brown; twelve grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Lloyd Mitchell
Phyllis Ruth (Behuniak) Bruce
Departed on Nov. 8, 2010 and resided in Middletown, CT.
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
2:00 pm
She was the Associate Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan from the fall of 1976 to the spring of 1984, and also worked in real estate and property management. Since 1997 she served as co-director of music at South Congregational Church in Middletown. With her husband she wrote a series of three church musicals: "Cousins," "Brothers and Sisters," and "Parents." The first part of "Cousins" will be presented in her memory at South Congregational Church on Sunday December 12 at 10:00 am
She is survived by her husband; her mother; four sisters, Joan Yelding, Virginia Barnes, Sandra Tarbox, and Helene Larson; a brother, James Behuniak; seven children, Karen Curley, June Burns, Jacqueline Cubeta, Frederick Mackowitz, Richard Bruce, Lucile Bruce and Meriwether Brown; twelve grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.