Bruce Hart

1933 - 2017

Bruce Hart

Bruce was born in Chicago, IL on September 27, 1933 to Burl & Renee Hart, and passed away peacefully at his home on December 8, 2016. Bruce attended Griffith High school in Indiana and was a three sport athlete. Bruce's first jobs as a young man was working on the railroad as a gandy dancer, picking green beans at a local farm and working in the steel mills of Chicago. He enjoyed life as a youth in Griffith, Indiana making many lifelong friends and especially enjoyed his mom's French desserts, pies and wonderful cooking. His interest in engineering brought him to Purdue University where he earned his Civil Engineering Degree and his first taste of collegiate sports; especially basketball which he followed faithfully thorough out the years. Bruce's first job after college, took him to Sharon Pennsylvania where he worked for Devro Construction Co, until he made plans to drive to Seattle, Washington in 1962 for the World's Fair. Bruce fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and never returned to the Midwest. Seattle was soon to become his new home for the next fifty- four years. The Pacific Northwest served as the ultimate playground for Bruce and the many new friends he made after accepting an engineering position with Boeing. After setting up housing on Portage Bay at "Hamlin House" next to the Queen City Yacht Club, Bruce began exploring the wonderful Seattle topography and all that it had to offer and taking pictures along the way. Bruce's love of photography soon developed and his gang soon had many pictures documenting their adventures. Bruce and his friends, skied, hiked, golfed and enjoyed sunny days on the dock for the next 5 years. During that time, he met Joyce Carlson and a new chapter in Bruce's life began. They were married in 1968 and along with her son from a previous marriage, they started a family. They designed and built a new home in Lake Forest Park and added two more boys to their family life, Bruce carried on his love of sports, coaching his boys in soccer, baseball and basketball. His youngest son who has down syndrome brought out the best in Bruce and for the rest of his life, he became an advocate for the rights of the disabled and a supporter of Special Olympics. Bruce worked at Boeing for thirty-three years and retired in 1995 as a lead engineer. After retiring, Bruce and Joyce toured the United States and drove cross country and along the east coast as well. Again, this trip was memorable one and Bruce's love of photography documented all their travels and provided an opportunity for Bruce who was an avid story teller to do what he did best and bring each picture back to life by remembering every detail from that one moment captured in time. Throughout the years Bruce and Joyce continued to travel; this time by ship and enjoyed many cruises which included the Panama Canal, Alaska, and the Caribbean. Throughout the years, Bruce and Joyce continued getting together with the gang from the Hamlin House and everyone gathered at Bruce and Joyce's house for a New Year's Day party; a tradition that lasted for over 40 years. In 2004 Bruce and Joyce moved to a retirement community in Bothell meeting new friends and taking part in progressive dinners and events in their new community. They enjoyed attending their grandschildren's school functions and sporting events. Bruce is survived by his wife Joyce, sons Mitch (Renee) & Brad, sisters Janet & Marti, brother Don & two grandchildren Coco & Carson. A memorial will be held in his honor on January 29th, 2:00pm at Wandering Creek Clubhouse, Bothell WA.