Walter Granville Bruch, Jr. was born in Memphis to Walter and Thelma Humphrey Bruch. Walter had two brothers, George and Edward Lindbergh, now both deceased, and one sister, Nancy (now Griffin), who lives here in Memphis.
The Bruch family is of German decent, originally from Leipzig. Walter’s great-grandfather, George Frederick Bruch, Sr., immigrated to the USA with his wife and children in 1864. A professional musician, Mr. Bruch had been a professor in the Leipzig Conservatory of Music. Sadly, his new life in Memphis did not last very long. He died in 1873 in a yellow fever epidemic. His son, George, Jr., was also a classical musician, and helped to start the Memphis Philharmonic Orchestra in the early 1900’s.
Walter’s school years began at Leath Elementary. Next he attended Bellevue Jr. High, and then Tech High School. Walter’s dad was an auto mechanic who owned his own business, which he operated at the back of the family property on Hernando Street. The Memphis Ice Cream Company was one of Mr. Bruch’s clients. He serviced and repaired the company trucks. During the summer of 1942 he learned of a job opening on the packaging assembly line, and helped Walter to get it. It was the summer before his senior year in high school. When school started, he would go to school in the morning and leave at noon to go to work.
High school wasn’t all work and no play though. "I loved archery," Walter declared. "At Riverside Park I learned archery. I earned some trophies and even won one of the tournaments."
One funny school incident involved his Austin, a small two-door car. It was a two-seater, but Walter says you could cram five guys into it if you needed to. "It was very light and one day somebody put it on the school steps. I drove it off right in front of Professor Highsaw, the principal," Walter remembers. He also remembers his principal with great respect. Walter stated that after his retirement from teaching, Professor Highsaw became a librarian with the Library of Congress.
Walter continued school and working until he graduated from Tech in 1943. Then he went to work full time at the ice cream factory, but only for a time because his uncle needed him - his dear Uncle Sam that is. Walter was drafted into the Marines and sent to boot camp in San Diego. Then they sent him to Norman, Oklahoma to a Navy school for aviation ordinance. His next stop was Cherry Point, North Carolina followed by a stay in Newport, Arkansas. While in Newport, he got to come home to Memphis every other weekend. From Newport, he was sent to San Francisco where he shipped out for Zamboanga in the Philippines. The next stop was Malibang, then his outfit was off to China. Walter says, "Our basic mission was to take the Japanese out of China and return them to Japan." China is where Walter spent the majority of his time in the Marines. He helped build Quonset huts for housing and worked on generators in base maintenance. He liked China very much and has kept many pictures that he took there. He also liked the people. The special bond he formed with them played a part in his future. Walter made it to the rank of Staff Sergeant, then was discharged in 1946 and returned to Memphis.
Walter came back to Memphis and the ice cream company. They asked him to learn refrigeration engineering, so he learned about the refrigeration equipment from a very knowledgeable man, and has been the refrigeration engineer ever since. Walter joined the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society in 1960, and through that organization’s training and testing, he has kept up with all the latest in refrigeration technology.
The company loaned out, and serviced, freezers for the grocery stores that carried their ice cream. It was a convenience especially for the smaller "mom & pop" stores that used to exist in all the neighborhoods. So, in addition to the huge equipment needed to produce and store ice cream in the plant, Walter had to maintain all the freezer units in a 50-mile radius of Memphis. He had some very long days. If a unit malfunctioned, Walter would drive to the store, fix the problem, and then he had to stay there awhile to make sure it was working correctly - no cell phones or radios in the early days especially. Joanne says Walter always loved his work. She never knew when he would get home, until he got there. She said, "We always had breakfast together every morning, and dinner together every night - and that could be anywhere from 7 p.m. until midnight - but we always had dinner!"
He got to know a lot of the owners of small grocery stores. One group became special friends. After the war, a number of Chinese people immigrated into the Memphis area and several became grocers. Walter remembered his time in China and how good the people were to him when he was a stranger in their country, so he did his best to help these newcomers in our country. They were very appreciative of his help and kindness, and treated him with great respect, always calling him "Mr. Walter." Joanne says they called her "Mrs. Walter." They were invited to Chinese family celebrations and other important events and treated with great honor. The Bruchs still receive Christmas cards from some of the families he helped over the years. One couple that retired to Arkansas still visits with Walter and Joanne every time they come to Memphis.
Today, Walter still has his membership with RSES and he still works one day a week for Memphis Ice Cream. Though they no longer make ice cream, they still maintain the equipment and Walter specializes in maintaining the older equipment. Not a total retiree yet!
And how did Mr. Walter meet Mrs. Walter? It was in 1946 at the Rainbow Skating Rink. They both loved skating. Walter had come with three sisters that he was trying to teach to skate, but a young lady who was skating by herself caught his eye. She outshined them all. Says Walter, "She was, and is, the apple of my eye."
Joanne was born to Anna Maude and Richard Clayton Martin. Her parents both worked very hard, so a lot of Joanne’s early years were spent with her grandparents. "My grandmother raised me because my parents worked such long hours," she says. Her grandfather was a blacksmith. "I was in awe of him," says Joanne. "He was a gentle giant. He would take my little hand in his two big hands and speak so kindly to me. I remember when he told me to take good care of "Mama." That is what I always called my grandmother. He must have known he was very sick at the time. I was just four when he died."
She lived with her "Mama until she was six. She says, "Mama taught me everything. She was the most godly woman you would ever meet. Mama always instilled in me that faith in God would see me through anything. She loved Gospel music and we went to all night singings and saw every Gospel group that came to town. I remember many an evening going to sleep with my head on Mama’s lap and all that wonderful music as I drifted off."
When her school years arrived, she went to A. B. Hill, Cummings, and other elementary schools. Her parents each owned their own businesses, so they moved several times as they tried to get homes closer to their work and to good schools. Then the family rented a house large enough for "Mama" to come and live with them. When Joanne was eight, a little brother, James Edward, joined the family. He and Joanne have always had a close relationship through the years. He now lives in Florida.
Eventually, the family was able to buy a home on Englewood in South Memphis. "I had always dreamed of going to Southside High, and my dream came true! I went to Southside in grades nine through twelve," she says. Sadly, when Joanne was 16, her beloved "Mama" passed on. The faith that her grandmother instilled through the years helped Joanne to cope with the loss.
Then in 1946, in her senior year of high school, she went skating at the Rainbow Skating Rink and her world was changed. She was just 17, "Young and naïve," she says of herself, when she met this fellow who was 21, a former U.S. Marine, and in her eyes, a sophisticated man of the world. Why, he even drove a sports car - a maroon Austin convertible. Walter said, "She wouldn’t go out with me at first. She was still in high school and I seemed too old, but I didn’t give up. Just little by little, she got to know me and then we started dating." Walter started thinking about marriage, and then he started talking about marriage. "But I needed some time," she says. "I wasn’t ready to get married. Marriage for me was to once, real, and forever."
After her high school graduation in 1947, her parents gave her a trip to California to visit close relatives out there and have some time and distance to think about "things." But Walter figured out a way to cut into the time and space. He started writing to her so quickly that there was a letter waiting for her when she got to California. He wrote everyday - and Joanne answered everyday. By the time the trip was over, Joanne had made the decision to accept Walter’s proposal and they were engaged.
In August Joanne’s parents and little brother went to Florida on a business vacation, but tragedy struck. On the trip, Mr. Martin died from a heart attack. "I just could not believe it. He was only 38 years old. In my eyes, my father hung the moon," Joanne remembers. "Walter came to the rescue. My father loved him dearly, and he helped our whole family through it. My brother was only nine years old, and my mother was just devastated. Walter played a big roll in each of our lives and was such a blessing to our whole family."
Later that year, on December 7, 1947, Walter and Joanne, the apple of his eye, became Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bruch. "In 1954, Walter had to use his GI loan opportunity or lose it so we bought a home, and we hope to stay there until we can’t put one foot in front of the other. Though we were not able to have children of our own, my brother’s two daughters filled the spot for us, always showing us so much love and respect, even to this day. They always lived close and we were involved in their lives. Now, their children are our grandchildren," says Joanne.
"I worked most of my adult life, too," says Joanne. "I worked awhile, then took four years off, and then I worked for over 20 years at Boat and Motor Mart, which was owned by friends. It was a beautiful relationship. The job started out as part time - just a couple of days a week, and before I knew it, it was full time. I loved every minute of it." She retired when they sold the business and moved out West.
Walter and Joanne came to know the Lord in very different ways. Thanks to her Mama, Joanne feels that she grew up knowing the Lord. There was not a great conversion experience, it was more a life lived in His presence. Walter came to know the Lord via the radio. As he traveled daily around the Mid South listening to the broadcasts of Oliver Green, a Christian radio favorite, and then Dr. J. Vernon McGee, he found his Savior. Walter still listens to the daily broadcasts of Dr. McGee who, as Walter says, "Puts the cookies on the bottom shelf."
The Bruchs joined Central Church in 1986. The came to a wedding at Central and say that something about the church just grabbed them. Walter grew up Catholic and Joanne grew up Methodist. They had attended churches but hadn’t ever found "their" church. The music, the people, and a feeling in the sanctuary they had not experienced before brought them back. After all the years of searching, they loved Central Church and have never wanted to go anywhere else. And we are glad! They are members of Rev. Phil Clements’ Life’s Potential Sunday School Class. Walter served as an usher and is now a greeter at the front doors on Sunday mornings. Joanne says, "He lives for Sunday mornings and greeting the people coming to church. It is the highlight of his week." Joanne helps set up and decorate for our Come Alive Dinners, and has helped mail out the Prime Time. Both are members of our Sanctuary Pocket Patrol that keeps our Worship Center chair pockets full of cards, envelopes, and sharp pencils.
Today, Walter’s hobbies are stamp collecting and bowling. For years, the Bruchs and dear friends Ann and Wilton Rightsel used to bowl every Friday night in our old family life center. It was Wilton who introduced Walter to ushering. Joanne declares her home to be her hobby.
This December 7, these two lovebirds celebrated 59 years of joy together. An early traditional anniversary gift from Walter was a red rose for each year of their marriage. But, on their 12th anniversary, Joanne decided, "That’s enough!" So every year since then she has enjoyed a dozen red beauties. "Good thing," laughed Walter, "I’d be in the poor house! By now I’d have to get a truck to get them home!" To celebrate their anniversary, they stay home and eat dinner together. "We’ve always just enjoyed being together. We prefer being together, not partying," states Joanne. "I just put on my best bib and tucker and cook his favorite meal," she smiles. "We have steak, baked potatoes, and chocolate cake - by candlelight. I love him more today than I ever did" You two get a golden loving cup for so many years of married bliss. And we are sure you will each have a golden crown, too. You are both inspirations and blessings to us and to the church. We are glad your searching brought you to Central Church.
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