Bruce and I had a long friendship together. We met at Gordon grade school in 1945. We were both Club Scouts, then Boy Scouts and we both went on to become Eagle Scouts. Bruce loved to fish and we spent many years fishing together. His favorite lake was Leech Lake, entertaining myself and our neighbors.
I will surely miss Bruce and our weekly conversations.
I'm a 30 year retired patrol deputy from RCSD in 2007, then became a part-time patrol deputy through Sept. 2011. During that time period I met Bruce and worked closely with him while he was assigned to Water Patrol and county-wide park patrol. Working many details with Bruce, riding on the patrol boat he was piloting with my K-9 on routine patrol, having many dinners with him while working, etc., I got to know Bruce closely. After my full retirement I met him for many lunches and we continued our friendship. Bruce exemplifies and is the epitome of the police motto: to serve & protect! Bruce led by example and all reserves, deputies (including myself) looked up to him because of his competent style of leadership, extreme knowledge of boating laws & regulations on rivers/lakes, his calm honest down-to-earth friendly loving demeanor when dealing with people who might be emotional, argumentative or belligerent/challenging, etc., he always met those challenges with calm professional grace, compassion & understanding. He promoted and led many citizen instructional-safety classes in boating, ATV, etc., which was his passion, and trained new water patrol deputies as well. I will miss & remember his mentoring style greatly, as he was perhaps the poster child of an exemplary ethical-honest-engaging friendly deputy that one would ever hope to meet. RCSD was extremely lucky to have Bruce on our team and will be forever thought of in the highest regard. God bless him and his family.
Bruce and I had a long friendship together. We met at Gordon grade school in 1945. We were both Club Scouts, then Boy Scouts and we both went on to become Eagle Scouts. Bruce loved to fish and we spent many years fishing together. His favorite lake was Leech Lake, entertaining myself and our neighbors.
I will surely miss Bruce and our weekly conversations.