John D. K. Brunner; Puppeteer

A memorial service will be held Sunday for John David Keables Brunner, a longtime Valley puppeteer who recently helped organize investors who were defrauded in the Lincoln Savings & Loan collapse.

A Valley Village resident, Brunner died Feb. 16 of cancer at a North Hollywood hospital, said his son, Paris Brunner of Santa Monica. He was 68.

Born in Newton, Iowa, he came to California as an infant and settled in the San Fernando Valley in the late 1920s. While attending Van Nuys High School, Brunner joined the circus and traveled throughout California during his summer vacations. He earned an acting scholarship to study at the Pasadena Playhouse but had to forgo his plans after he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. A fighter pilot, Brunner and his fellow pilots saw the flash of the atomic bomb explosion over Nagasaki as they flew 40 miles offshore.

After he was discharged, Brunner worked as a commercial artist for Market Basket for five years. He and his wife then studied a year at the Sorbonne in Paris, where they frequently watched puppet shows in the park. Upon their return to the United States, Brunner continued his career as a commercial artist. In 1962, Brunner quit his job and with his wife started a puppet touring company, the Popcorn Theater Marionettes, using handmade puppets, which performed throughout the country. During the 1980s, Brunner used puppets to create special effects for films and television.

Recently, Brunner helped organize a grass-roots group of Lincoln Savings investors who lost money in the collapse. He testified in the criminal trial of Charles H. Keating III, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for securities fraud.

In addition to his son, Brunner is survived by his wife of 46 years, Vivian Brunner of Valley Village, and sister Jessie Jo Van Loon of Pasadena.

The memorial service is planned for 3 p.m. Sunday at the First United Methodist Church of North Hollywood, 4832 Tujunga Ave. Donations can be made National Audubon Society or the World Wildlife Fund.