Mark Robert Bruening

Mark Robert Bruening, son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend passed away peacefully on October 18, 2021. He spent his final days at home surrounded by his loving family.
Mark was born April 11, 1957, to Wayne and Sylvia (Zilonka) Bruening in Salt Lake City, Utah. On June 24, 1977, Mark married the love of his life and his best friend Georgia Lyn Bruening in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple for time and all eternity. Mark and Georgia were blessed with three children and eleven grandchildren.
Mark was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He served in the Elders Quorum as well as in the youth organizations; which he loved most of all. He loved spending many hours in the temple doing sealings with the love of his life, Georgia.
Mark graduated from Salt Lake Community College and Weber College with a bachelor's in electrical engineering. In Mark’s final project he created a laser light show that would draw shapes using computers and music speakers.
Mark was a second generation employee at Utah Power/PacifiCorp/Rocky Mountain Power where he retired after 40 years of service. Throughout his career he worked in many capacities including pole crew, warehouse, and as a computer programmer. Mark spent most of his career as an Electrical Engineer in the communications department where he worked to improve power grid reliability.
Mark loved being outdoors with his family. He was an avid hunter, especially bird hunting, but duck hunting was probably his favorite. He created many happy memories while hunting with his kids and grandkids. He always said there was nothing in the world like watching a good hunting dog work. He also loved camping and backpacking, although he preferred to camp in his motorhome where he had a shower. Mark was also an avid fisherman. Over the years Mark amassed a collection of boats, most of which he used for fishing. His family started referring to him as the Admiral because his fleet had grown so large.
Mark loved working on vehicles. Over his life he has rebuilt several vehicles with his favorite being the 1976 Jeep CJ5 he pulled out of a field and rebuilt with his children. A few years back he restored a golf cart that he painted to look like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. His last vehicle was a 1970ish Volkswagen that has been converted to a bright orange Baja Buggy. He purchased a surfboard in Virginia Beach and carried it home on an airplane just so he could add the finishing touch to the roof.
Mark loved motorcycles, ATVs, and his Razor. At one point in his life he and his family were out riding motorcycles almost every weekend. He loved to be out following behind his children and grandchildren as they rode. His last ride on a motorcycle was six weeks before his passing.
Throughout the years Mark also collected ham radios. At one point he had a 500 watt repeating station in the basement with an array of antennas mounted to his roof. In the early 1990s, Mark had radios installed in all his cars that were able to communicate with a base station installed in his kitchen.
Mark was an avid scubdiver. He dove in some of the most beautiful locations in the world. He snorkeled with Manatee in Florida and dove with sea turtles in the Chapel in Hawaii. His favorite dives were the reefs off of the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands as well as off the coast of Mexico.
Mark loved to travel. In 2018 Mark fulfilled his lifetime dream of traveling through Europe. Mark and Georgia traveled through England, Belgium,the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France. His favorites were the canals of Venice and castles of Germany.
Mark loved music. He always had a radio on no matter what he was doing. He loved the classic hits of the sixties and seventies, especially the bands America, Herman's Hermits, Simon and Garfunkel, and Chad and Jeremy. He played the drums both in high school and with his friends. Later in life he pulled out his old drum set and returned to this passion. For ten years he played with the West Jordan City Symphony as a percussionist. He also learned to play the trumpet, guitar, and piano.
Mark’s final passion in life became remote controlled airplanes and helicopters. After retiring Mark flew remote controlled airplanes weekly with the Falcon Fliers. He amassed quite the collection of planes and helicopters most of which he crashed and rebuilt several times.
Mark was a fiercely intelligent individual. There wasn’t a problem he couldn’t solve. He could fix almost anything and even in his last days he laid in his hospital bed figuring out how to fix the projects that were waiting for him at home. Over his lifetime, people were always either bringing him things to fix or asking for his advice on how to fix things. Mark often went missing only to be later found out fixing something in his shop.
Mark loved his family very dearly and was an amazing father, husband, son, and brother. He always made time for those he loved, and whenever his family needed anything, he would drop everything and come help. His family has so many stories of him patiently coming to their rescue.
Mark is survived by his wife, Georgia Barker Bruening; children, Alicia (Brett) Hills, Jeremy (Andrea) Bruening, and Craig (Jill) Bruening; grandchildren: Parker, Jordan, Chase, Lillian, Megan, Hunter, Jocelynn, Marcus, Arianna, Kevin, and Isabella; Brother John (Gina) Bruening, Sister Jill Stimatz (Brett); as well as many other extended family members that love and miss him dearly.
Mark is preceded in death by his parents Wayne and Sylvia Bruening.
A viewing will be held on Sunday October 24th, 2021, from 6-8 pm, as well as Monday October 25th from 10am to 10:45 am at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 E. Dimple Dell Rd. (10600 S.) in Sandy, Utah. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, October 25th, 2021, at Larkin Sunset Gardens. Interment to follow services.