Notes:

Fred L. (Papa Fred) Bruening
December 3, 1930 - July 9, 2022

Fred Leonard “Papa Fred” Bruening, longtime area resident, passed away on Saturday, July 9, 2022 after a brief illness, he was 91.  He was born in Reid City, Pennsylvania on December 3, 1930, a son of the late Fredrick Luther and Viola Grace (Leonard) Bruening.  He attended school in Shanksville, Pennsylvania and eventually moved to Niagara Falls.
Fred was a unique and wonderful personality who would electrify and bring life to any place that he would go.  His sense of humor and the way he looked at life would leave everyone in a better mood than they were before his visit. He was always willing to help anybody with any project or problem.  He had enormous amounts of energy and was always doing something to keep himself occupied up until his last days when he was still operating his bulldozer on his farm.
He would take night classes but would become bored so he taught himself anything that he found interesting.  He was a skilled sheet metal fabricator, carpenter, stone mason, welder, electrician, stationary engineer and boilerman and was an expert in superheated steam generation and instrumentation. 
Fred would use his ingenuity and imagination to improvise anything that he needed that would make a project easier or the process better.  He never actually saw a problem, only a solution and could create a tool, materials or anything needed to complete any project.  Nothing was ever wasted and he would regularly use old wire coat hangers as welding rods to fabricate or repair steel.
“Pops” had a genuine interest in the people that he met and would remember conversations and stories for years, often continuing a conversation months or years later. 
Fred is survived by his loving wife Diane (Boduch) Saunders Bruening; his son Mark Bruening (Susan) of Pennsylvania; a stepson, Michael (Sabrina) Saunders of Meaford, Ontario; his son in law, David Coull; grandchildren, Hannah and Ian Saunders; Mark, Jr; Blaine; Daniel; Cody and Casey; Special friend, Mark Johannesen of West Seneca.
He was predeceased by a daughter, Barbara Coull and siblings, Curtis and Ronald.
Private services will be held at the convenience of the family.  A celebration of life will be held at a later date. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children's Hospital; Flight 93 Memorial Fund or Niagara Hospice, Inc.

Fred married VOELKER, Charlotte June on 20 May 1955 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY, and was divorced on 12 Aug 1993 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY. Charlotte (daughter of VOELKER, Frederick William and SHAFER, Ruth Christianna) was born on 23 Jun 1934 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY; died on 9 Jun 2011 in Buffalo, Erie County, NY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: BODUCH, Diane. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mark married RHOADS, Susan Elizabeth [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Niagara Gazette - 4/21/2008
TEXAS: Former Lewiston woman slain
By Rick Pfeiffer
E-mail Rick
Greater Niagara Newspapers

He heard three pops and then saw his wife Barbara, lying on the ground.

As he drove up the main driveway of his ranch in Stockdale, TX on March 20, David Coull knew something was terribly wrong.

“He knew immediately what (the pops) were,” said Charlotte Bruening.

Coull’s mother-in-law and his wife Barbara’s mom, Bruening said her son-in-law recognized the sound of gunshots and instantly wondered where the couple’s 11-year-old twin boys were.

“He (David) went straight to the house and the boys were there watching TV,” Bruening said. “So he called the sheriff and they told him to lock the doors and stay right there.”

A short time later, deputies had Lee Van Tollefson, 61, a visitor from North Dakota who had been living in his mobile home on the Coull’s ranch, in custody and were charging him with the murder of 49-year-old Barbara Bruening Coull.

A coroner’s report would later determine that the former Lewiston resident and Niagara-Wheatfield grad had died of “multiple gunshots to the head and neck.”

“He (Van Tollefson) had been staying on the ranch since December,” Bruening said. “He was living in his mobile home and (the Coulls) had given him permission to stay there.”

Bruening said she hasn’t spoken to the Wilson County Texas Sheriff’s Department investigators who are handling her daughter’s case. However, she believes it may have been a dispute over money that triggered the tragedy.

“I don’t know what the financial conditions were (for Van Tollefson to stay at the ranch),” Bruening said, “I guess that was what the confrontation (between her daughter and Van Tollefson) was about, though I don’t know for sure.”

Van Tollefson is currently jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail. Texas authorities say he faces five to 99 years in prison.

Bruening said there was no warning that Van Tollefson may have been violent.

“I really don’t understand,” she said. “He had taken the children to school when Barbara was sick. I think he may have been too quick on the trigger.”

Coull, who moved to Texas after graduating from SUNY Fredonia, had been working as a substitute teacher there. Her mother said, “it’s impossible to comprehend (that she’s dead).”

“She was gutsy, sometimes too much for her own good,” her mom recalled. “She had a good sense of humor and she really loved those boys.”

On the Web site of a Stockdale newspaper, a close friend left her thoughts about Coull’s death.

“I can attest to the amazing character, humor, love of family and beauty of Barbara,” said friend Michelle Berns. “Our deepest sympathies are with (her) family at this tragic time.”

Barbara married COULL, David George III [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Brie. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]