Carl Bruch, Ph.D., age 91, of Hudson, WI, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 3, 2021. Carl was born on May 25, 1929 in Kenosha, WI to parents Carl and Bessie (Jacobson) Bruch. He graduated from Kenosha High School and continued his education at Michigan State University, where he obtained his masters in Soil Microbiology. He then earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After college, he enlisted in the military and was ranked 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
After his service, he began his career as the supervisory microbiologist at Wilmot Castle Co., in Rochester, NY from 1958-62. He then held the title of chief microbiologist for Schwarz Laboratories, Inc., from 1962-63 in Mount Vernon, NY; other positions he held were planetary quarantine scientist with NASA from 1963-66 in Washington, DC; chief bacteriology branch for the FDA from 1966-72 in Washington, DC; deputy director Office Device Evaluation for the FDA from 1973-82 in Washington, DC; Vice President of quality for Skyland Scientific from 1983-85 in Bozeman, MT, and his final position held was with St. Jude Medical in St. Paul, MN, as director of regulatory affairs from 1985-90, before becoming a private consultant for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, until his full retirement in 2018. He also contributed articles to many professional journals.
Awards he received during his career were Recipient Prize for Microbiology Society Cosmetic Chemist, in 1971; Award for infection control International Association Hospital Central Service Personnel in 1993; the Kilmer award for sterilization science by Johnson & Johnson in 1993; the 2013 AAMI Foundation’s Laufman-Greatbatch Award, and was credited with single-handedly moving sterilization science forward at the U.S. FDA.
Organizations of which he was a member included New York Academy of Sciences, American Society for Microbiology, Society for Industrial Microbiology, and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). His faith and church were ever present. Carl was someone who was aware of and honored all of God’s creation.
Carl met Anita Lehmbeck at Skyland Scientific in Bozeman, MT, and they married on September 21, 1985. Carl enjoyed spending his free time swimming, playing softball, watching basketball, listening to music, enjoying nature, skiing and dancing.
He will be missed greatly by his wife, Anita; children, Elise Bruch and Miriam (Alton) Burton; stepson, Terry Jones; grandchildren: AJ (Emma), Kimmie (Juan), Cal (M.D.), and Tori; great-grandchildren: DJ, Mariana and Valentina; siblings: Don Bruch and Janet Nimer; and many other family and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents; siblings, Pat Bruch and Judy Zemanick; and former wife, Mary Kestermeier.
A memorial service for Carl will be held in late spring. Memorials are preferred to the discretion of the family, and cards may be sent to the following and will be forwarded on your behalf:
O’Connell Family Funeral Home
c/o Carl Bruch Family
520 S. 11th St.
Hudson, WI 54016
Published in the Kenosha News on February 14, 2021