Bruce Keith Blythe

Dr. Bruce Keith Blythe, 64, passed into the presence of Jesus in the early hours of March 29, 2023, from complications arising from Alzheimer's Disease.
Bruce was born on June 5,1958 in Paris, Illinois, to Marion Keith and Marjorie Mae (Delap) Blythe, joining his big sister, Jane, to complete their loving family.
Growing up in Vandalia, Illinois, Bruce enjoyed being his dad's helper on construction projects, and his mother often found him reading through volumes of the encyclopedia (just for fun)! He even found a mistake in one volume, wrote to the publishing house, and they acknowledged the mistake and corrected it in future editions. He was a competitive tennis player, and was honored to be asked to be the first junior ever in his high school to be the editor of the yearbook.
Losing his father to lymphoma when he was sixteen further cemented a desire to go into medicine as a profession, and he graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class in 1976. He attended the University of Illinois for his undergraduate degree and his medical degree, and completed his residency at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis.
Following his residency, Bruce moved to Minnesota to join Aspen Medical Group as an internal medicine doctor in the summer of 1987. He attended Crystal Evangelical Free Church because of its robust singles ministry, and soon met Kathryn (Kate) Rose Schricker. They developed a friendship which turned into love, and they married in February of 1989.
Garrett Keith joined the family in September of 1990, followed by Andrew William in December of 1993 and Jonathan Bruce in July of 1996. Bruce taught his sons the love of learning, camping, building, laughter, and - most importantly- to love Jesus and follow Him. He was an example to them of integrity, faithfulness, perseverance, hard work, and godliness. He was involved with his church, Prairie Hill, where he was an elder for a time.
In 2000, Bruce chose to accept a position as a hospitalist at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. He enjoyed the new challenge and appreciated that the schedule gave him blocks of time that he could spend with the family.
Bruce was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's at only 56 and gave up his medical practice. He chose to focus the time he had left on his family and the Lord. To the end, he maintained his desire to look out for his family, and maintained a heart of praise and thankfulness to the Lord. Towards the end, his most fluent sentences were prayers of thankfulness for God's goodness.
Bruce spent his last days being cared for by the compassionate staff at St. Francis Hospital in Shakopee, MN, surrounded by loved ones, hearing the songs of praise he loved to sing. While his wife, Kate, and sister, Jane, attended him during the day, his loving mother, Marge, stayed with him during the night shift. So it was that his dear mom saw him into this world, and also saw him into eternity.
Bruce was predeceased in death by his father, Marion K Blythe. He is survived by his wife Kate, sons Garrett, Andrew, and Jonathan (Brianna); his mother Marjorie Blythe May, sister Jane (Gary) Konrad, as well as extended family and friends.
We will greatly miss our beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend.
Bruce's funeral service will be held at Prairie Hill Church, 17200 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, Mn, on Thursday, April 6th, at 10:30. Informal visitation will begin at 9:30, with a luncheon to follow.
Streaming of service will be available at : youtube.com/@prairiehill.church or search YouTube for Prairie Hill Church. It should be available for a few days.
If you would like to give a memorial in Bruce's honor, we would like to suggest a donation to
Samaritan's Purse, Feed My Starving Children, MCMA Africa, or the Prairie Hill Church Romanian Mission fund.