by Tim Troglen
Reporter
Hudson -- Celeste C. Brauer, 92, a former Army nurse who survived the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, died May 28 at Laurel Lake Retirement Community in Hudson after a brief illness.
Mrs. Brauer was belatedly presented her World War II service medals March 16, 2007, by Congressman Steven LaTourette (R-Madison) at ceremonies in Hudson in 2007. In commemoration, Hudson declared March 16, 2007, as "Celeste Brauer Day."
Mrs. Brauer was born Sept. 26, 1916, in Nanticoke, Pa., the youngest daughter of Lithuanian immigrants.
After high school, she attended nursing school at Philadelphia General Hospital, graduating in 1936 as a registered nurse. She was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1938, serving first at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., and then being assigned to Tripler Army Hospital in 1940.
While hanging out with a girlfriend on a Hawaiian beach, Mrs. Brauer met her future husband, Albert, who was stationed at nearby Schofield Army Barracks.
As one of the 82 Army nurses stationed at the hospital when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor shortly before 8 a.m., she was among the first medical personnel to treat the wounded servicemen and sailors from Hickham Army Air Field and Pearl Harbor Naval Station.
"It happened so fast," Mrs. Brauer said of the attack during a 2007 interview.
Mr. and Mrs. Brauer were married June 3, 1942. However, because of Army regulations, Mrs. Brauer was forced to resign her commission following her marriage and was evacuated to the mainland where she resumed her nursing career in Philadelphia.
The story of Mr. and Mrs. Brauer has been touted in books, articles and a CBS documentary on the 50th anniversary of the attack.
The Brauers lived in Dayton, Kyushu, Japan and Ft. Bragg, N.C., before moving to Kent in 1957. In 1961, Mr. Brauer retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Army, later teaching history and government at Kent Roosevelt High School.
Mrs. Brauer returned to nursing and worked at Kent State University Student Health Service for 25 years, retiring in 1982, but continuing her volunteer work with the American Red Cross blood banks.
The Brauers, in appreciation of the role education played in their lives, endowed scholarships in nursing, history and government at North Dakota State University in Fargo, Mr. Brauer's alma mater.
Mrs. Brauer was not only known for her wartime accomplishments, but also her love of bridge.
During her six years at Laurel Lake, she played in duplicate bridge tournaments until just weeks before her death.
She and her husband also enjoyed traveling throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, including extensive trips to the Soviet Union and the Holy Land.
Mrs. Brauer is survived by two sons, Gerald (Cheryl) of DeKalb, Ill., and Albert (Donna); granddaughter, Elizabeth of Loveland; and niece, Joan (Thomas) Weiss of Carlisle, Pa. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Martha (Valukonis) Pilvelis, two brothers and two sisters.
Mrs. Brauer was buried June 2 at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman after a June 1 service at St. Mary Church.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Brauer Scholarship in Nursing, c/o North Dakota State University Development Foundation, 1241 N. University Drive, Fargo, ND 58102, or the Laurel Lake Foundation, 200 Laurel Lake Drive, Hudson 44236.
Johnson-Romito Funeral Home handled arrangements.
E-mail: ttroglen@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3146