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Your Catholic Neighbor: Mickey Bruns
Local altar server living his dream
By Joyce Coronel, The Catholic Sun
October 4, 2007
He doesn’t have a driver’s license and he’s never been to college, but Ss. Simon and Jude parishioner Mickey Bruns has achieved his lifelong ambition — he’s an altar server.
The first thing the 52-year-old man with Down Syndrome does when he meets someone new is offer a gentle hug, and if you’re a female he thinks is pretty, you might just get a marriage proposal, too.
Though doctors encouraged Bruns’ parents to institutionalize him, he grew up at home as one of five kids. He was a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish and attended the Perry Institute in Phoenix for 12 years, graduating in 1970.
“Mickey was 2 years old when I was born, so we’re more like brother and sister,” his guardian and niece Pattie Figueroa said. “We used to play Mass when we were little. He was the priest and we would pretend and sing. We had a chalice that we used and Ritz crackers, and we would baptize our cats.”
Figueroa and Bruns have had a close connection all their lives. She would often attend dances at the Perry Institute when they were teenagers. When Mickey’s brother — Pattie’s dad — died in 2001, she was appointed his guardian, and it doesn’t take an observer long to figure out why. Figueroa dotes on him and the affection between the two is both genuine and mutual.
“He likes to do things for me. He fills my jug up with ice and water and loves to help me clean.”
Mickey’s typical day includes listening to his favorite music group, the Beatles, and doing chores around the house. Each night he carefully sets the breakfast table: a glass for his orange juice and a doughnut to thaw out over night from the dozen Figueroa has stashed in the freezer for him. In the morning, he vacuums his room, and if it’s a Monday, he’ll dust the house. Wednesdays are reserved for cleaning his desk.
Mickey is a Green Bay Packers fan who also happens to love coloring and sticker books. He enjoys shopping with Pattie, especially for office supplies. Friday night is “party night,” a tradition he carries over from the years spent living with his brother, and he indulges in his preferred food, pizza.
Although he worked for a couple of years cleaning tables for McDonalds, Mickey would much rather hang out with his niece and the rest of the family. Along with her husband, a college-student daughter and a fifth-grade son, Pattie also cares for her brother-in-law, Alex, who is hearing and speech impaired. Mickey gets along well with the whole family and has even managed to pick up some sign language from Alex.
One of his favorite pastimes is watching movies and Sunday nights are devoted to viewing a beloved film about Jesus. Each time the crucifixion scene plays, Mickey cries. In fact, as soon as someone mentions the movie, Mickey’s face clouds up and he gestures to indicate the wounds Christ endured as His hands were nailed to the cross.
Pattie remembers the time Mickey asked Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted for a blessing following Mass at the cathedral. After receiving it, Mickey raised his hand and offered one of his own in turn.
“The bishop said it was the best blessing he had ever received,” Pattie said with a smile.
“God put these people on the earth for a reason, to set an example for others of what the true meaning of Jesus is all about. Taking care of him has taught me a lot about life.”
Are you involved in any ministries?
Mickey has been an altar server for three years and serves at the 7 a.m. Mass every Sunday at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. He holds the candle for the priests during the reading of the Gospel and gets the hosts and brings them back to the altar.
What do you like most about being Catholic?
“I’ll show you,” Mickey said as he demonstrated processing reverently with a candle. “He loves being an altar server,” Pattie said. “When Msgr. O’Grady introduced Mickey to the congregation after the first Mass, he announced that he had a new helper. The whole church stood up and clapped for him.”
If you could meet someone famous, who would it be?
“Jesus or the Apostles,” said Mickey. Pattie added, “He can name all of them.” Upon further reflection, Mickey said he’d also like to meet “John, Paul, George and Ringo.”
What’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to you?
“When my dad got really sick, Mickey is the one who saved him,” Pattie said. “He had the phone number and called my husband at work and my husband called me. I was able to get the paramedics there. He remembers when the paramedics came and saved his brother’s life.”
“He’s in heaven now,” said Mickey.
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