Bruce E. Nickerson ’59

Lung cancer took Bruce at his home in Lexington, Mass., July 4, 2023.

He was born to English teachers in New York City, and a peripatetic childhood took him throughout the country before settling in Charleston, S.C., where his father took a position at The Citadel. Secondary schooling saw Bruce at Exeter, igniting an interest in math leading to his major at Princeton and his enjoyment of bridge, choir, Glee Club, and Theatre Intime. He dined at Court Club with senior-year roommates Bill Wetterstrand and George Collins. Following graduation he worked in the insurance industry while studying to become an actuary, settling in Harvard, Mass. He became a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, lending his talents to companies like Massachusetts Mutual Life and Capitol Bankers Life.

His 1960 marriage to Fran Hamburger produced four children and a joint and lifelong participation in choirs and choral groups, community activities, and the breeding and showing of award-winning Tonkinese cats. Bruce and Fran especially loved spending summers at Eagle Camp on Grand Isle in Lake Champlain, Vt. Above all they were travelers, reaching more than 150 countries including all of the ’59 ocean and river cruises, from the Danube through Europe to the Volga to Moscow and down the Yangtze in China.

To Bruce’s wife Fran and their children, class extends its deepest sympathy.