Patricia Taylor Bruner

Patricia Taylor Bruner, known as Patti to her friends and loved ones, passed away peacefully in her home on August 13, 2022 after a hard fought battle with breast cancer. Born in Wilmington, Delaware to William Henry Taylor and Janice Sutter Taylor, Patti grew up in a loving home in Sedgley Farms as the youngest of seven children. Patti attended Alexis I. du Pont High School, where she was Salutatorian of her graduating class, captain of her field hockey team, a member of marching band, and so much more. She had such fond memories of her time there, and she was so glad to attend her 40th high school reunion a couple of years ago to reconnect with all of her classmates. After high school, Patti attended Duke University, where she continued to play field hockey and captained the team in her senior year. As a member of the class of 1984, Patti and Coach Mike Krzyzewski shared the same first year at Duke. Patti passed her love of Duke basketball and field hockey onto her children, and the Duke fight song rang loudly throughout their home during every basketball game. Patti went on to earn her J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She worked for many years as an attorney in Washington D.C. and Dallas before eventually arriving in Knoxville. As an attorney, Patti was fiercely tough; early in her career, she told a judge he was wrong in front of an entire courtroom. She cringed speaking about the interaction later in life, but it truly captures her fiery spirit that she put into every aspect of her life. It was in Dallas where she met her future husband, Jim. The two of them were introduced through a mutual friend who told her he had a friend coming to a wedding in Dallas, and he thought the two of them would really hit it off. She agreed to attend the wedding with him, and less than two years later, Patti and Jim were married. They were married for 24 years. Their love grew. Patti moved to Knoxville with Jim, where they had two children, Emily and Olivia. She continued to work as an attorney for some time, then as a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law, before ultimately retiring. Even in retirement, though, Patti was always very busy. For many years, she coached basketball and soccer, played piano with her children, and delivered meals through Knox Mobile Meals. She also maintained an incredibly beautiful garden at her home, filled with flowers and fruit trees that somehow bloomed through every season. The Bruner home was always filled with love and compassion. Patti was the most supportive wife, mother, sister, and aunt that anyone could have asked for. She never missed a soccer game, band performance, or big moment for her daughters, and she loved them immensely without question. She took pictures at every one of their soccer games and had a talent for making the whole team feel a thousand feet tall. She loved to garden, cook, and play a homemade card game called Zippo. She loved chocolate, hot tea, and homemade applesauce. One of Patti’s favorite movies was It’s a Wonderful Life, and in this movie, Clarence the angel says, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” Patti touched countless lives, and she is missed so greatly. She is preceded in death by her parents and sister Denise Nance. Patti is survived by her husband James (“Jim”); children Emily and Olivia; their half-brother, Carey, his wife, Jennifer, and their children Eleanor and Helen; sister Lyn Taylor of Asheville, NC; brothers Rick Taylor and wife Gloria of Hilton Head Island, SC, Mike Taylor and wife Sandy of Brandon, FL, Jeff Taylor and wife Elizabeth of Hilton Head Island SC, and Mark Taylor and wife Robyn of Lakewood Ranch, FL; nieces Kimberly, Jessica, Melanie, and Emma; nephews Kyle and Sean; and a host of other loving nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and other relatives and close friends. We will be receiving family and friends Monday, August 15, 2022, from 11am-1pm at Rose-Mann Funeral Services at 6200 Kingston Pike. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for contributions to either the Susan G. Komen Foundation or Knox Mobile Meals.

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Patricia Taylor Bruner

July 3, 1962 - August 13, 2022