1944 - 2024
Carmen Munsey Bruce, 80, of Owasso, Oklahoma, passed away on Thursday, July 11, 2024. She was born July 11, 1944, to Robert M. Munsey and Blanche Irene Catlin Munsey in Carmi, Illinois. Carmen graduated from Carmi Township High School in Carmi. IL. in 1962, then attended Barnes Jewish Nursing School in St. Louis, MO. In 1966, she moved to Northwest Arkansas and obtained her Nursing License a year later. For the next few years, she worked in various hospitals throughout Northwest Arkansas. Her nursing career was put on hold while she raised her two children, Sommer and John. When her children were older, she ventured into other industries like real estate, construction, and residential/commercial development. She developed commercial properties like the Village at the Creeks shopping center in Rogers, Arkansas. She also built the beautiful Chapel on the Creeks as a monument to her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Over the years she never lost her love for the medical and health care profession. In 2003-2004 she served as the chairperson on the Capital committee for Mercy Health Systems of Northwest Arkansas to raise $40+ million to build a new hospital and medical center in Rogers. In 2014 she married Paul Bruce of Owasso, OK. and moved to Oklahoma.
Carmen is preceded in death by her father; mother; a baby brother; and two step-brothers, Ennis Heathcock and Robert Heathcock. She is survived by her husband Paul Bruce; her step-brother, Gene Heathcock; Mary Winter her sister of the heart; her children and step-children; 2 granddaughters; eight step-grandchildren; niece Nancy Lessor; and other dearly loved family members.
A graveside memorial service will be held for Carmen Bruce at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 2, 2024, at Walnut Grove Cemetery near Brownsville, Illinois. Campbell Funeral Home in Carmi is assisting the family with local arrangements.
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