Bruce L. Douglas ’47

Bruce died May 4, 2025, at his home in Riverwoods, Ill.

He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1925. After graduating from Princeton, he earned his doctor in dental surgery at NYU with specialty training in maxillofacial surgery at Columbia University. He later earned an MPH from the University of California, Berkeley.

Bruce served in the Navy with deployment to Japan during the Korean War. He practiced oral surgery and taught until 2025 at the University of Illinois Chicago, where he was a founding faculty member of UIC’s School of Public Health. He provided consultation on dental and public health for the World Health Organization and participated in multiple medical aid missions. Bruce later developed expertise regarding the older worker and senescence. He was honored in 2024 with the launch of the Douglas Award at UIC.

Bruce served two terms in the Illinois state legislature in the 1970s and later was a Fulbright ambassador to the Soviet Union and Russia. He published extensively, and his zeal for life and learning continued into his 100th year.

Bruce is survived by his wife, Veronica; children; and grandchildren. The class sends its deepest sympathies.