Bruce R. Lauritzen ’65

 Bruce died Feb. 21, 2024. He was born June 21, 1943, in Omaha, Neb., a scion of one of Omaha’s oldest families. Bruce’s great-great-grandfather had picnicked there July 4, 1854, and decided to stay.

Succeeding his father as head of First National Bank of Omaha, and now succeeded by his son Clark ’99, Bruce majored in English, ate at Cottage, received an MBA from UVA in 1967, became CEO in 1987, and retired as head of the bank’s holding company in 2020, although he retired from many of his duties when his wife, Kimball, became ill, dying in 2008. He built the bank from a $1 billion enterprise to $30 billion and helped stabilize downtown Omaha with a 45-story headquarters, a nearby technology center, and a five-block public sculpture park. In 2001, he was inducted into Omaha’s Business Hall of Fame and in 2015 named Midlander of the Year.

In his spare time, aside from traveling, hunting, and golfing, Bruce served as the honorary state consul for the government of Denmark, his ancestral home, and was a leader in the Episcopal Church. FNBO remains one of the largest family-owned financial institutions in the country.

Bruce married second wife Gerry in 2011, and is also survived by children Clark, Meg Lauritzen Dodge, and Blair Lauritzen; and cousin Peter ’62. We have sent condolences to his family on the loss of this remarkable man who accomplished more in one lifetime than a score of men might have. He will be missed and long remembered.