Obituary

Walter Arnold Brugger was born in Los Angeles on May 12, 1915, the only child of Catherine and Arnold Brugger.  He passed away on August 10, 2007.
 
Walt grew up in east Los Angeles and attended local schools.  He earned Bachelor of Engineering from University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Arts in Physics and Meteorology fromUniversity of California at Los Angeles. He also received a Masters of Science in Meteorology from California Institute of Technology 
 
 Walt was a licensed Civil and Structural Engineer and worked for the City of Los Angeles for 27 years. In 1970 he was elected President of the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California, a non-profit technical association for the advancement of structural safety.  At the time of his retirement he was the General Manager of the Department of Building and Safety, City of Los Angeles.
 
Walt was a nationally recognized expert in the seismic design of building and structures.  In 1964 he lead a team of experts to Anchorage, Alaska to investigate the devastation caused by the great Alaskan earthquake of that year.  The lessons learned from this trip were developed into code requirements by Walt and his team and are contained in today’s modern building codes.
 
Walt married Margaret Holcomb on August 21, 1943.  They have six children, three girls and three boys. They lived in San Marino, California for many years before retiring to Dana Point, California in 1980.
 
As longtime members of Saint Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, Margaret and Walt have been active in various ministries at the church.  Walt was especially instrumental in the construction of the new church, working very closely with Father Knight.
 
Walt’s favorite pastimes included playing bridge, tennis and golf.  During their retirement he and Margaret enjoyed traveling, often with friends, to many places around the world. Hawaii was one of his favorite places and his last trip was there with family in 2004.
 
Walt is survived by Margaret, his loving wife of 64 years, his children Cathy AndersonDavid, Peggy OlivaMike, Bob BruggerKathy, Pattie GaydaMike, Larry BruggerJudy, Bill BruggerAmy. He is also leaves 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.