Obituaries : Clarence “Dale” Bruce

Clarence "Dale" Bruce, 90, Cedar Rapids, formerly from Vinton, passed away on December 15, 2020. Services will be held at First Christian Church in Vinton on Saturday December 19, 2020 at 2pm with military right presented by the Iowa Military Funeral Honor Guard. Because of Covid restrictions, no visitation or meal will be held at this time. The family requests you attend in a safe manner with a mask and appropriate social distancing.

Dale was born April 6, 1930 in Vinton, to Robert and Lucille (Aurner) Bruce. He helped on the farm while attending country schools in the Urbana area and graduated from Urbana Community High School in 1947.

Dale united in marriage with Beverly Rutherford in Urbana on December 2, 1951. They relocated to rural Center Point where they became parents to five children. They adopted hundreds of animals, from dogs and cats to horses, rabbits and even orphaned wild animals, throughout their lives there on their little acre of land.

Dale served in the Iowa National Guard from 1950-1953. He very much wanted to serve the nation in the Korean conflict, but was medically unable to be deployed.

After various other jobs Dale started work at Collins Radio in 1959. He and Bev took an early retirement in 1985 to travel. After retirement they lived for a few years in Oklahoma where he worked on a ranch. Later moving on to spend seventeen years in the desert near Tucson, Arizona working as a handyman at an RV/Water Park and later as a security guard. They returned to Iowa in 2010.

Dale was a lifelong Cubs fan and was overjoyed when they won the World Series.

Dale was a friend of Bill W. since 1978.

After Bev's death in 2015, Dale renewed a relationship with an old high school girlfriend, Mary Watson. Dale and Mary were very happy together until her death in 2019. Dale became affectionately known as "Pappy Dale" to Mary's family.

Dale is survived by: four children, Tiane (David) Christy of Claremore, OK, Cindy (Troy) Henle, Sheri Bruce and Jim (Terri) Bruce all of Cedar Rapids; a brother, Tom, of Sacramento, CA; thirteen grandchildren Jason (Rebecca) Bruce, Stacey (Adam) Johnson, Nikki (Tony) Bennett, Kyle (Susan) Core, Travis Core, Ryan (Cara) Core, Tranay (Brad) Benson, Boone (Talitha) Bruce, Erin (Tim) Stancel, Joey (Cassie) Bruce, Zack (Chelsea) Harford, Bryttanie Huff, and Kayla (Tony) Huffman; twenty-two great-grandchildren, Sam, Eleanor, Beau, Cory, Christopher, Dawson, Mychele, Ericka, Jackson, Mason, Alyssa, Braden, Maiya, Avery, Makinlee, Addison, Zoey, Kaylee, Maggie, Jamie, Lexi and Bennett.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years; son Steve Bruce; grandson Trent Core; great granddaughters, Carman Stephens, Arianna Core and Charlotte Bruce and a brother, Jim Bruce.

A memorial fund has been established to honor Dale's life and memories. Donations may be directed to the family or to Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home.

The family extends a special thank you to Rock Ridge Assisted Living Center and staff at The Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House for their dedicated and loving care to Dale in his last days.

Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home is caring for Dale and his family. Condolences may be left at www.vsrfh.com.