Bruce Victor Eby

1926 - 2017

EBY

BRUCE VICTOR Age 90 of Saint Clair Shores, passed away at home of natural causes on March 10, 2017 with his beloved wife, Rafaela, caring for him by his side. He is survived by two devoted daughters, Nicole (Tony) Nausieda and Barbara (William) Fullingim; his grandchildren, William Maxwell, Bruce Aiden, Sunshine Penelope, Minerva "Minnie," Harrison Victor, Marielle Rose; and countless nieces and nephews. The second youngest of six, Bruce was born to Harold and Jessie Eby in Welland, Ontario Canada. Growing up with very little and an absent father, he and his remaining family immigrated to the United States in the midst of its Great Depression in 1937. There, in Buffalo, New York he immediately took up his first job at the tender age of 11 as an usher at a movie theater. He loved to tell stories of watching early Hollywood movies, eating free popcorn, and playing bouncer to those who snuck in. He later worked as a teenager at the Tonawanda Airplane Engine Plant helping with the War effort. Unable to finish high school, Bruce was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 18 to serve out the remainder of World War II. He survived the Battle of the Bulge only to stay and take part in the release and relocation of Jews and other captives from Nazi Concentration Camps. Returning to the U.S., Bruce took up various business ventures with his brothers before moving to Bakersfield, California in 1955 via old Route 66. In 1976 he married the love of his life, Rafaela Osorio, herself an immigrant from Colombia, South America and twenty years his junior. Bruce retired in 1983 from the State of California Department of Corrections after nearly 20 years of service. He continued to work part time as a teacher's assistant with small and special needs children for the Kern County School District while staying home and raising his young daughters. He loved peanut butter, oatmeal, ice cream, baseball, reading history books, and playing all types of games with his grandchildren. Bruce always had a quip or joke for everyone, and made his wife laugh every single day. He was the greatest example of kindness, patience, fortitude, and unconditional love. His presence may be gone, but his memory shall live forever.