Nathan Bruns, the motorist killed as a result of a Route 100 head-on collision July 22, was remembered by several hundred family and friends at his funeral on Monday as a lover of life, people and practical jokes.

And Bruns’ obituary, written by close family members who wanted to convey those three loves, expressed it succinctly and with a tinge of humor: “Nathan Bruns, born on Jan. 14, 1981, died on July 26, 2011. He was attempting to rescue baby elephants from a stampede, as was his way. Few knew of his elephant philanthropy, as he was so humble.”

According to one of the writers of the obituary, Bruns’ cousin Justin Bruns, who grew up on the same road in Gray with Nathan, the obituary was written for those with an inside scoop on Bruns’ personality, and wasn’t meant for a wider readership. The metaphorical wording was meant to honor Bruns’ love of practical jokes and reflect his fun personality.

“He would have loved it, that’s why we felt it was the perfect kind of tribute,” Justin Bruns said.

Nathan Bruns, who worked as a welder at the family-owned Bruns Brothers Process Equipment in Gray and had been married to Macala Bruns for three years, died July 26 at the age of 30 from injuries sustained when his pickup truck crossed the centerline on Route 100 near the Gray-New Gloucester town line on Friday, July 22. Bruns struck an oncoming tractor-trailer truck driven by a New Hampshire man, who was not injured. An investigation by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office is ongoing.

Nathan Bruns grew up on Lawrence Road in West Gray in a section settled by his grandfather, Charles Bruns. Charles, who died two years ago, had 13 grandchildren, nine of whom still live on or close to Lawrence Road. The grandchildren total 46 boys and girls including Nathan, Justin and Nathan’s 19-year-old sister Amanda Kimball, who all spent much time playing and exploring in the woods behind their homes off Lawrence Road.

The grandfather, a noted teller of tall tales, warned the children about the elephants who lived in the backwoods and especially of their stampedes. Nathan, who hung on every word his grandfather uttered, believed the tall tale as a young boy.

“The elephant is the symbol of the whole family, has been since our grandfather came up with that story about the elephants in the woods,” Justin Bruns said. “He also used to work at B&M bean factory in Portland and would say he had captured one of the elephants and used it to move around the vats of beans. It wasn’t true, of course, but Nathan believed him and did so up until the age of 12. He was the kind of person who wanted to believe the best of the world. That’s the way he was, and he loved that story. He wanted it to be true.”

Regarding the section of the obituary, “He was attempting to rescue baby elephants from a stampede, as was his way,” Bruns’ mother, Ruth Bruns, said her son was known as a dependable resource should someone be in need.

“He was always doing something for someone. He had 46 cousins, so he was always rescuing one of the them,” Ruth Bruns said. “He was very protective of people, especially those with disabilities or problems. He liked people. He liked life. He liked giving hugs. He liked being good and kind. He was just a good guy.”

Two particularly heroic “baby elephant” rescues stand out for Ruth Bruns. The first was when Nathan carried his cousin, Tyson Butts, the entire length of the several hundred foot-long driveway after Tyson hurt himself. The second was when Nathan was 4 years old and noticed his cousin, Evan Bruns, starting to drown in the family pool.

“He apparently saw him when no one else did and went up and grabbed him by his hair and just pulled him up. That was amazing,” Ruth Bruns said.

The next part of the obituary, “Few knew of his elephant philanthropy, as he was so humble,” is a humorous twist of reality.

“He was not so humble, so that was part of the joke, too,” Justin Bruns said.

Another reason the family chose the elephant theme for Nathan’s obituary was because, in the end, as Nathan laid in the hospital bed at Central Maine Medical Center in a coma, his cousin said Nathan had himself become “the elephant in the room” as numerous family and friends made their way to his hospital bed.

“His body was kept alive for several days after the accident, so we kind of realized that as we talked there at his bedside, that he was the elephant in the room,” Justin Bruns said.

The unique obituary, however, almost didn’t happen. One of the newspapers the family sent it to, through Jason Wilson at Wilson Funeral Home in Gray, didn’t want to run it, said Justin Bruns.

“The family knows it’s an unconventional kind of obituary, but as we thought about what kind of obit we wanted, the family was like, you know what, screw it, it’ll be funny and very much in the spirit of the man,” Justin Bruns explained.

When one regional daily newspaper wanted to retract the obituary, Justin Bruns said the many family members flooded the editor’s office with calls explaining that the obituary was just what the family wanted and also what Nathan would have wanted.

“So they let it go, which we were happy they did. It’s understandable the newspaper’s reactions, but it was a very fitting obituary. And I can’t tell you how many people came up to me at the funeral and said they loved it. So the people who knew Nathan, they got it. And the ones who didn’t? Well, we weren’t writing it for them,” Justin Bruns said.

Nathan Bruns