Bruce William Dorfman

BRUCE WILLIAM DORFMAN (1948-2024) "We are all here on this planet, as it were, as tourists. None of us can live here forever." On November 4, 2024, Bruce William Dorfman passed away in his home in Tucson, after a lengthy struggle with cancer. Bruce was one of the good guys. He was a warm, witty, gregarious man possessed of great kindness and generosity who cherished his relationships with friends (many dating back to grade school days) and family. He was a wonderful storyteller with a hearty and infectious laugh. He was a lousy whisperer. During his cancer treatment, he had appointments at what he referred to as the "chemo spa" and did not show up there without a box of doughnuts for the staff. Bruce was born July 25, 1948, and raised in Fargo, ND. While he left Fargo after high school for college and, after graduating from the University of Texas, seldom returned, he maintained a lifelong connection to Fargo, recalling all through his life in great detail the people and places from his early years. His career of some 45 years was spent entirely in the travel business, mostly working for airlines. He began in Chicago working for Pan Am. There, he met his lifelong companion and husband, Joe Mosman. They relocated to New York City, and then to Tucson where, initially, Bruce, used to City sounds, complained that the chirping birds were an irritant. Bruce and Joe ultimately settled in the Barrio Viejo section of Tucson, the oldest part of the city. Visits from family and friends invariably included walking tours of the neighborhood, complete with Bruce's running commentary about the area's history. Bruce took his role as host extremely seriously, imparting information, requested or not, on everything from the flight loads on scheduled flights to deals on car rentals (though he usually simply offered the use of his car), hotel locations and prices, restaurant reviews (his own), the best place to buy bread, and anything else that came to mind that might be helpful. A bit of family lore: In grade school, Bruce wrote a note to his gym teacher, purportedly from his mother, that Bruce was not to be subjected to any games involving kicking because "he has went to the doctor to get his foot examinated and his foot has a slight broken bone...he can run and play like boomerang but no kickin games." Bruce is now at rest in a place where there are no kickin games. He is survived by his husband Joe Mosman, sister Phyllis Luckman, brother Donald Dorfman and his wife Betty, and several cousins, nieces, grandnieces and a grandnephew. His ashes will be spread in Fargo. In the words of a Hebrew proverb: "Say not in grief that he is no more, but live in thankfulness that he was."