Patricia E. Bruno

A lifelong Buffalo resident, Patricia was born on September 27, 1935, the middle child of the late Salvatore and Angela (nee Montesano) Anzalone. She lived on Bird Avenue and grew up playing with her brother and cousins in Delaware Park.

A 1953 graduate of Holy Angels Academy, as a teenager, Patricia could often be found working at Foodland, her father’s Bailey Avenue supermarket.

In her twenties, she worked in the pathology department of Buffalo General Hospital, where she met her husband, the late Dr. August A. Bruno. They married in 1962 and had four children.

Her creativity and well-developed aesthetic sensibility touched every aspect of her life. In the 1970s, she returned to college to fulfill her lifelong ambition of becoming a designer. She graduated magna cum laude from Villa Maria College in 1978 with an Associate of Science degree and an Interior Design certification.

She worked for Hoelschers Inc. office furniture and supply as a commercial interior designer, advancing to become the director of the company’s design department. Later she traveled throughout New York state as a textile manufacturer’s representative.

An ardent gardener, for many years she was active in the Amherst Garden Club, an organization dedicated to the promotion of gardening, landscape design, and horticulture. She served the organization in various capacities, including as its president. She also studied Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arranging, often medaling in flower show competitions.

From the garden to her home décor, her favorite color was green, which she called “God’s color,” and loved in all its variety.

In addition to gardening, once retired, Patricia enjoyed playing bridge with friends and antiquing throughout upstate New York’s towns and villages. She and her daughters also took several “girls-only” trips to Europe.

She was a gourmet cook who excelled at Italian American classics learned in her mother’s kitchen. Long before it became trendy, she explored regional Italian specialties both rustic and refined and executed a classic French cream sauce that would make Julia Child envious. From chic dinner parties to traditional St. Joseph’s tables, she loved to entertain, delighting in having friends and family gather in her home.

Her life was defined by her steadfast devotion to her parents, husband, children, and grandchildren. Patricia adored each of her seven grandchildren and reveled in their accomplishments. Before his passing, she and her husband had great fun hosting the family at their annual Crystal Beach reunion. In her final years she could be found sharing her culinary tricks-of-the-trade with her grandchildren or playing gin rummy with them, while discussing the latest movies and the stock market.

During the holidays, her children will remember her magnificent 14 foot Douglas Fir Christmas tree adorned with hand-tied red velvet ribbons. Each year, she would open the double doors of her Amherst home so that the tree could be enjoyed in its resplendent glory by friends and neighbors.

In the final months of her life, surrounded by her children and grandchildren, she was still actively creating beauty in her surroundings, be it cultivating her garden or tweaking the interior of her well-appointed home.

Patricia is predeceased by her husband, Dr. August A. Bruno; her sister, Josephine Aquilina; and her brother, Salvatore J. Anzalone, Jr.

She is survived by her son, Dr. August A. (Elizabeth) Bruno Jr. and her three daughters: Claire (late Bradley) Bacon, Dr. Claudia (Steven) Fish and Elaine (Jeffrey) Vukelic, as well as her seven beloved grandchildren and cherished nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends may visit DENGLER, ROBERTS, PERNA FUNERAL HOME, 8630 Transit Rd., East Amherst, on Sunday (January 2, 2022) from 2-6pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, 6919 Transit Rd., Swormville, on Monday (January 3, 2022) at 10:30am. Interment Forest Lawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Patricia’s memory may be made to the Hospice Foundation of WNY, PO Box 590, Buffalo, NY 14240.