Bruce Eldon Irvine passed away peacefully on May 28, 2023, in Thunder Bay Regional Hospital.
Bruce was born to Alice and William Irvine in Mather Township in 1940, and grew up on the family farm outside Emo, Ontario. He attended high school in Fort Frances before studying instrument mechanics at Ryerson. Following stints working in Quebec and in sales, he returned to northern Ontario and began work at Port Arthur’s fine papers mill, eventually becoming head of the instrument department.
He married his love Sharon Kuch in 1967, and they remained together through good and tough times until her death in 2022.
Bruce was an avid outdoorsman and taught his daughters to fish and enjoy the outdoors. In his later years, he helped build garages and fences around the country where his family settled. He was a loyal friend and could be counted on to show up with a well-equipped toolbelt to help.
Bruce loved machines and thoughtfully designed systems. He was always fixing something, often in an inventive way that no one else would have imagined. He enjoyed reading a good spy novel or adventure tale but was happiest when in action and outdoors, whether at the family camp which he and Sharon built or on an expedition somewhere up the Spruce River Road. In retirement, he enjoyed participating in the Fish and Game Club, perfecting his marksmanship at gun club, clearing trails for the Snowmobile Club, and taking part in Habitat for Humanity builds. Neighbours may remember the surprise of waking up to find Bruce snowblowing or plowing their drives with his old red Massey-Harris tractor. He was a keen partridge, deer, and moose hunter and picked a very clean pail of blueberries.
Predeceased by wife Sharon; survived by daughters Leslie (Brian), Dale (Saki), and Robyn (Joe); grandsons Owen and Alec; and sisters Jackie (Maurice) and Joan.
Bruce requested no funeral service, please toast him on your camp deck. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Riparia, an organization that helps young women get on rivers and lakes to do science and conservation work. (https://www.riparia.ca/donate)
