I remember every time we had pie night around Thanksgiving , Bruce and I would go straight to the pecan pie because it was his favorite as well as mine and we would always joke about how much he enjoyed pecan pie!
I loved listening to him play the keyboard and he was a good listener, he was very caring ,intelligent and attentive!
I am so happy The Lord put him in my life!

I first became aware of Bruce and his family's existence when I was about 4 or 5 and they moved to the Portland area from California. Our dads were brothers, my dad Bill and Bruce's dad George. Bruce and family lived in Cedar Hills for about 10 years or so. We had many Thanksgivings, Christmases and summer outings together along with his mom Jane's siblings and their families, all of whom lived in Oregon.

Bruce was quiet and reserved for a kid, so when you got something out of him it was funny as hell and special. My name is Suzanne, but Bruce used to call me "Suzette" when I was a kid.

My parents owned a strawberry farm in Banks, Oregon during that time and I remember his whole family coming out to "help" pick berries. Bruce and his brother Dave could pitch a berry distances I could only dream of attaining, and much of our picking went straight to the end consumer (our mouths).

Uncle George and my dad loved to fish since they were kids in Portland and the Willamette River was filled with salmon during spring Chinook runs. When they were in Cedar Hills, George bought a small mobile home and put it in Rockaway, Tillamook County. I was always up for fishing, clamming and crabbing and it seems Bruce was as well. I remember crabbing with him and George in Tillamook Bay on an impossibly sunny and warm summer day. Our families were posted up on an island or spit in the bay and we cooked crabs and had a picnic. We three also struck out on salmon in Tillamook Bay and years later up in Everett, Washington. On the Everett trip Bruce caught a huge bullhead and fed it to the neighbor's cat, Charlie.

Another outing I remember was on Sand Island in the Columbia. George and Bruce and my dad and my brother Bill boated out to the island and camped overnight. The rest of us joined the next day. We drove to Dalton Point and George came up in the boat and ferried us down to the island. We had a cookout and water skied in the Columbia.

I saw Bruce from time to time throughout the years in Washington or in southern California. I last saw him at our family reunion in 2019 to meet my long-lost nephew, John "Marty" Blake. I wish I had seen him more, but that is often the nature of life - we always plan for and expect another tomorrow.

RIP, primo carnal.

We all know Bruce as a kind, gentle and caring person. He had all of those qualities, but in addition he was a fierce competitor. 

Early in my friendship with Bruce I discovered this. We were at an offsite with the Rev Req group. Bruce and I were playing tennis together. He soon discovered the my weakness was a backhand. So naturally he focused on hitting the ball to my backhand side. Invariably I would fluff the shot or hit it into the net. This torture continued until he won set and match. 

As we finished a couple of hot shot Rev Req tennis players approached us with a challenge to a two on two game. Despite my hesitancy, Bruce jumped at the opportunity.

Before we began that match, however, Bruce pulled me aside. He showed me a minor adjustment to my grip that would correct my backhand problem. And it did. 

This was a gigantic lesson for me. This new friend was a keen competitor. He would not share with me the minor adjustment until he and I were on the same team playing against others. 

I saw the same competitive instinct on the golf course as well. 

I miss you Bruce.