The following obituaries appeared in the May 19, 2021 edition of the Star Valley Independent.
For more area obituaries, please visit Schwab Mortuary.
For more resources including headstones, please visit the Star Valley Historical Society.
Edward Harry Bruce passed away on May 17, 2021 at the Star Valley Medical Center in Afton Wyoming. He was born August 17, 1946 in Afton to Pearl Johnson (Smoot, Wyoming) and Harry Bruce (Almy, Wyoming). He was the second of eight children which included his older brother by 13 months, Larry Bruce (deceased) and his amazing sisters: Patty McNeel (JC), Deanne Bradfield (Vick), Teresa Bruce, Sherri Miles, Lora Lee Wise and Cherolyne Jardine (Doug).
Ed grew up working with his dad and brother at the service station in Smoot and down at the ranch with Uncle Earl and Uncle Reynold. Ed’s favorite place in the world was spending time on the ranch fishing, fixing fence, haying and pitting his wits against those pesky beavers of Willow Creek.
Ed attended Star Valley High School where he wrestled, played football and there is photo-documentation of him playing a big base drum in Band. He graduated in 1964 and went on to attend and wrestle at Ricks College finishing his degree in Education at Utah State University.
Dad married Sally Barber (Freedom, Idaho) on August 30, 1967 in the Idaho Falls Temple. They lived in a drafty trailer house for dad’s last year at Utah State. He did his student teaching in Sugarhouse, Utah and began teaching at the Afton Elementary. They proceeded to have five children: Nicole Smith (Doug), Matt Bruce (Andra), Marshall Bruce, Kamarie Hearne (Karl) and Natalie Dance (Drue).
Dad started teaching the 3rd grade and later moved to the 5th grade. He began coaching wrestling with Lew Lamb and continued on with Richard Hoopes, Kevin Kennington and many other incredible Star Valley wrestling coaches. He was very proud of these kids and would tell his kids/grandkids and anyone who would listen, stories of his students and the boys he coached over the years…always with a sense of joy, admiration and gratitude that he got to be a part of their lives.
Dad was a dedicated son and brother and a wonderful grandpa much loved by his grandkids. He was a hard worker often coming home to change his close to go work at Nield’s Service Station, for his parents, as a county sheriff, fence fixer, hay hauler, cow feeder, de-horner, irrigator and wood getter. A “picnic” was code for going up Grey’s River and getting wood. In his later years he ran a little security business at Simplot.
He loved fishing, hunting and spending time with his ten grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his wife, mom, dad, brother Larry and nephew Michael McNeel.
A viewing will be at Schwab Friday May 21 from 6–8 p.m. and again Saturday, May 22 at the Afton 3rd Ward Chapel from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Funeral services to begin at 11am.
