Lillian Mae (Phillips, Webster) Bruno

Preceded in death by beloved husband, Vincent Bruno; and first love, Richard S Webster; parents, Ida Mae (Noblet) and Clarence Joseph Phillips; brothers, Donald C. Phillips and Lawrence Phillips; sisters, Dorothy Goodell, Janet Lisle, Barbara Murray; grandson, Trevor Ryan Tourville; son-in-law, Michael Erickson. Survived by sister, Rhoda Van Galder of Chandler, AZ; children: Kathleen Henry (Jeffry), Richard S. Webster Jr. and Judith Webster; grandchildren Trista Boe (Steve), Shannon Smith (Ken), Bryan Bothman, Sara Evers, Benjamin Lindblad (Christina); 9 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Little known fact: her given name was “Lillie” which she felt was childish and unsophisticated until her latter years when she accepted “Lillie Mae” as an expression of love from those closest to her. Lillie Mae was born in Fresno County, California, the second of 7 children. She loved the movies and dreamt of an acting career and living in New York City. She told a story of learning to tap dance from illustrations in a library book and visiting her father’s favorite corner bar on Friday nights to tap dance for enough money to spend the rest of the evening at the movie theatre. She graduated from Fresno High School in 1943 and finished an LPN nursing degree shortly after. On her way to New York City to pursue a theatre career, Lillie Mae found herself working at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth, MN where she met and married her first love, Richard (Dick) Webster, an ambulance driver. They moved to Forest Lake in 1957 and Lillie Mae was employed by Dr. Ruggles at his hospital on South Shore Drive. Later she was one of the original employees at the Forest Lake District Memorial Hospital on 11th Ave. S, first as an LPN and later promoted to Purchasing and Supplies Manager. She never made it to the Big Apple, but found new love and companionship with her dear Vince. They enjoyed retirement in Wisconsin and Florida; fishing, golfing, playing cards and enjoying retirement life. After Vincent’s passing in 2015, we often found Lillie Mae resting in her recliner watching old movies. Lillie Mae’s “Final Fiesta” will be 1-3 PM Sunday, May 5th at Roberts Family Funeral Home, Forest Lake. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to DAV.