Brigitta "Bruni" Brunhild Mayr

Mayr, Brigitta Brunhild “Bruni,” age 82, longtime resident of Wayzata, Minnesota, passed away April 18, 2022. 

Bruni was born in the German city of Elbing, East Prussia (now Poland). When World War II became imminent, her family moved to her maternal grandparents’ farm in Deutschkessel, Silesia, in central Germany. The war forced her family to move again, and they ventured west by train and then on foot before finally settling in Wrexen, Waldeck. Bruni often shared fond memories of living in the upper level of the train station in Wrexen where her grandfather was the stationmaster. 

After finishing college, Bruni decided to leave Germany to improve her English proficiency by taking a job as an au pair. The agency placed her with a young Wayzata family in 1961. Shortly thereafter, she met her husband Arnold, who also worked for a local family that owned an estate on Lake Minnetonka. In 1963, they were married in Arnold’s home town of Oberammergau, Germany. 

When Bruni and Arnold returned to Minnesota, they moved into the caretakers’ cottage on the 13-acre estate of Arnold’s employer on Brackett’s Point, where they raised their son and twin daughters. Bruni managed the greenhouse, estate gardens, and decorating the mansion for holidays and frequent parties while Arnold served as superintendent of the property, butler, chauffeur, and handyman.  

Bruni and Arnold worked for the family up until the matriarch’s death in 1991. They worked for the new estate owners for a brief period before resigning when Arnold developed terminal cancer. Arnold died in 1993, two days after they had moved to an apartment in downtown Wayzata. 

After a few months, Bruni gathered her resolve and found employment at a luggage store where she worked for a number of years before retiring. Bruni loved Wayzata, her home for 60 years. She kept busy with frequent walks to the lake, where she’d happily while away the hours meeting friends, reading, watching people, dogs and wildlife. She frequently attended local events including concerts at the Depot and The Great Lawn, street festivals and art fairs. She greatly enjoyed the local shops and restaurants. To her, everything was better in Wayzata – the people, the food, the views. She exercised regularly at the YMCA and treasured the friendships she developed during her time there. Bruni lived in her beloved town until shortly after her terminal cancer diagnosis in March 2021, when she moved to Amira Choice of Plymouth. She lived there for 11 months before she passed. 

The family wishes to acknowledge and thank everyone at Amira for attending to Bruni in her final months. More importantly, we appreciate the numerous ways you made it clear to us that you cared about her.

Bruni was preceded in death by parents, Emil and Liesbeth Fuehrer, sister, Helga, and husband, Arnold. She is survived by brother, Reinhard (Dagmar) Fuehrer; children, Stephan (Bryn) Mayr, Birgit Mayr, and Petra (Rich) Brown; and grandchildren, Noah and Max.

A celebration of life will be held Thursday, May 19, at David Lee Funeral Home, 1220 Wayzata Blvd East, Wayzata. Visitation at 10 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. Memorials preferred to donor’s choice.Mayr, Brigitta Brunhild “Bruni,” age 82, longtime resident of Wayzata, Minnesota, passed away April 18, 2022.

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