Dedicating a conference room to a UNM staff member is a rare thing, but Terry Bruntz was given that honor Wednesday.
Susanna Gilbert, one of several committee members who worked to dedicate a conference room in the College of Education in Bruntz's name, said that buildings and rooms at UNM are rarely named after staff members.
"Buildings are often named after faculty, but not staff," Gilbert said. "She's a symbol for us."
Peggy Blackwell, a UNM professor and former dean of the College of Education, said that suddenly losing Bruntz, who died from a cerebral aneurysm in 1995, a committee was formed to find a way to help honor her memory.
Gilbert and a crowded room of friends and family gathered to remember Bruntz, who began work at UNM in 1975 as department secretary for the Learning Materials Lab. She transferred to the College of Education's dean's office in 1991 and worked there until her death in 1995.
Though no explanation has been given why it is rare for a staff member to have a memorial, the words of her friends and family offer an explanation as to why Bruntz was able to capture the hearts of so many people.
"She had the most wonderful, glorious smile; she smiled all the time," said Blackwell. "I think of her smile as a ray of sunshine. You could be depressed and you could be down in the dumps and there would be Terry and she'd make your day brighter."
While Blackwell spoke, some people smiled and nodded their heads, others cried.
"It's really special," Floyd Bruntz said about the memorial in his wife's honor, who he married in 1977. "It makes me feel a tender spirit is very much alive here. They're very proud of Terry to honor somebody who wasn't a faculty member."
Viola Florez, dean of the College of Education, never knew Bruntz, but after hearing so much about Bruntz from some of her colleagues, Florez said she began to understand why the memorial was so important to them.
"She touched so many lives - it was the right thing to do," Florez said.
The friends and family of Bruntz gathered on Valentine's Day to dedicate the room in her name.
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"It's most appropriate we selected Valentine's to honor Terry," said Chuck Taylor, a College of Education faculty member. "Terry was a woman who was loved and respected by everybody. We miss Terry, but she'll always be with us."
When Bruntz died unexpectedly in 1995, friends and colleagues said more than an empty space in their office was left behind - it also left an empty space in their hearts.
To try and fill the void Bruntz left after her death, some of her colleagues formed a committee in 1997 to honor her forever. They worked until 1999, when the Board of Regents approved the suggestion to name conference room 124 in the College of Education Offices after Bruntz.
