Bruce died at his home Nov. 1, 2014.

He matriculated at Princeton in 1943, but his studies were interrupted by his service in the Army in World War II. He then returned to Princeton, graduating in 1948, and later acquired his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in English from Johns Hopkins University. His work was again put on hold while he served in the Korean War.

Bruce began teaching at Colgate University in 1954, where he specialized in modern American poetry. As chairman of the English department, he began the department’s visiting-writers series in the 1960s when he started hosting readings by American and British poets. He was known for his translations of Hungarian poetry. Bruce’s poems and translations were published in a variety of collections and literary journals.

Following his retirement in 1988, he continued his travels to Budapest over the next two decades to work with Hungarian poets. He and his wife, Jo Anne, took winter vacations to St. Martin and also would go abroad for a couple of weeks during the summer.

Bruce is survived by Jo Anne, three daughters, three sons, and 10 grandchildren.

Undergraduate Class of 1947