Bruce was born and raised in St. Louis, where he graduated from St. Louis Country Day School. He entered Princeton in 1942, joined the Navy V-12 after his freshman year, and was transferred to the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1945. He was commissioned as a communications officer and joined the U.S.S. Edgecomb, which brought troops home from the Philippines.

In 1946, Bruce returned to St. Louis to take engineering courses at Washington University and joined the International Shoe Co. He also pursued two of his major interests — ham radio and sports cars. After marrying in 1955, he moved with his family to Laguna Beach, Calif., where he worked as a production engineer and plant manager.

Bruce retired in 1988 to a 1790s-era farmhouse in Addison amid beagles, sheep, and vegetable and flower gardens. They named it Whitford House and opened it as an inn in 1992.

Bruce is survived by his wife of 54 years, Barbara Bitter Carson; three children, Peter, Amy, and Katie; four grandchildren; and his brother, William C. ’50. He was predeceased by his daughter Meg. The class extends sympathy to them all.

Undergraduate Class of 1946