Marilyn Brune was an office associate and building coordinator at the OSU Schoenbaum Family Center. Brune died in a car accident Jan. 10. Credit: Courtesy of Gemma McLuckie

Marilyn Brune was an office associate and building coordinator at the OSU Schoenbaum Family Center. Brune died in a car accident Jan. 10.
Credit: Courtesy of Gemma McLuckie

An Ohio State employee died over the weekend in a reported one-car traffic crash.

Marilyn Brune, 53, was an office associate and building coordinator at the OSU Schoenbaum Family Center, which is a university-sponsored laboratory school for children.

Brune began working at the lab school in 1990 as an infant and toddler teacher before moving into administration, according to the center’s website.

“She expressed her enthusiasm for her work by saying, ‘Children have a special way of brightening up a dreary day; must be why I’ve been surrounded by them for 20 years,’” her bio on the website said.

Cheryl Achterberg, dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology, said in a statement Brune made an impact during her time at OSU.

“With the death of Marilyn Brune, the College of Education and Human Ecology has lost a vibrant and beloved member of our community. Marilyn improved the lives of small children and their families as a member of the Schoenbaum Family Center team … She was known for her enthusiasm,” Achterberg said in the statement, emailed to The Lantern by Gemma McLuckie, director of communication for the college. “Her co-workers at SFC, the children and their families at the center, colleagues in the college and many students and alumni will long mourn her unexpected death.”

The accident occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Friday on Olentangy River Road near Lane Avenue, according to a Columbus Division of Police accident report.

Brune, who lived in Columbus, was driving her 2003 Honda CRV when, “for reasons still under investigation,” she reportedly lost control of the car, went off the right side of the road and struck a tree, according to the report.

After being transported to the Wexner Medical Center, Brune was pronounced dead at 3:13 p.m.

A memorial service is set to be held Monday at Berean Bible Church in Dublin, Ohio, at 2 p.m. with a visitation afterward. Donations can be made to the music fund at the Heartland Baptist Church, located in Marysville, Ohio, in lieu of flowers, according to Brune’s obituary.

The accident was the first traffic-related fatality of the year, according to the report.

Attempts to reach members of Brune’s family for comment over the weekend were unsuccessful.

Columbus Police representatives did not return requests for comment Sunday.