Bruce Winston Incorporated

A child is dead.
There is an empty car seat in our van.
A pair of shoes by the front door that will never be worn again.
A hole between a big brother and a little brother. Jack and Fred.
Anguishing parents. Robin Dodd and Patrick Danielson.
He died before three of his grandparents. Marilyn and Jimmy Danielson, Laurin Dodd.
He was five years old.

Bruce was so utterly enchanting.
He gave the best hugs.
He was a chatterbox. His chatter was the most beautiful sound. The last word he said was yes when we asked him if he loved us.
His favorite book was about a bear named Corduroy.
He never went to Kindergarten.
He had just lost his second tooth.

Bruce had an inquisitive love for things that could be opened and closed, locked and unlocked. He loved to push the buttons on the elevator.
Bruce was his happiest outside, jumping on the trampoline in the snow or pulling a wheeled suitcase around the neighborhood with YaYa in the rain. Onlookers might have assumed he was unaccompanied as he walked ten steps ahead in the grocery store, pushing his own cart. Bruce laughed at his own jokes; big belly laughs like a contagion. His knock-knock jokes were signature. Bruce was wise, perceptive, friendly, cheerful, and so silly. His cheeks would flush the rosiest red. His hair fell into strawberry colored ringlets. He had a big nose.

Bruce s death was caused by a rare and aggressive brainstem tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). We had never heard of it. Google could tell you the same as we could. This cancer kills children insidiously: most between the ages of four and eleven. It is inoperable, and resistant to chemotherapy. At median, kids live nine to twelve months, and less than 1% survive five years. Bruce lived eight months and six days from the time he was diagnosed. Researchers will use Bruce s donated brain and tumor to continue to search for an effective treatment that will bring hope.

What happens after death? Not one of us knows. The unknown is unsettling, haunting. Is there a soul? A part of Bruce that will exist in a sort of afterlife of as another form of life in the universe now that his physical body has gone to rest? These questions will consume us as we grieve. We will be grieving for the rest of our lives.

We are so thankful to every person who touched Bruce s life. He received extraordinary medical care at the University of Kentucky, Kentucky Children s Hospital, Cincinnati Children s Hospital, and New York University. Bruce s every wish was made to come true with the help of friends, family, organizations, and strangers. Bruce s time on this earth was joyous. He was cherished.


A memorial service will be held at the Milward Celebration Center
1509 Trent Blvd. Lexington, Ky 40515
Saturday, August 11th.
Visitation at 11:00 am, Service at 1:00 pm.
All are welcome.

To know more about Bruce and his journey, visit facebook @loveforBruce.