Bruce Harold Luoma

Bruce was predeceased by his parents Bill and Rose, nephew Les, brother Robert, sister Helen, and

Joan (nee Redford), his wife of 55 years and “catch of a lifetime.”

A natural storyteller, Bruce’s tales (often tall ones) were highly detailed, with a huge cast of characters,

and usually a joke. He loved making people laugh.

His earliest childhood memories were of life at Roberts Creek, the family rowing to picnics and catching a fish on the way home.

In Campbell River, Bruce started school, walking in stiff shoes and south-easters from 5th Avenue to Elm Street, shivering through lessons in a damp coat. When his father’s job moved them to a Nimpkish Valley

logging camp, the rail skidder took him to school – and rushed him part way to Alert Bay hospital to have

his appendix removed.

Outside school, Bruce cut and stacked firewood, hung around the camp cookhouse, and took

the family dog sailing. (When the wind stopped howling, it was a tough row home.)

As teenagers, he and his brother built a rustic cabin on Theimer Lake, hauling boats and supplies

through thick forest to spend weekends camping, fishing and hunting.

At 16, Bruce joined the Englewood logging crew. Later, at Menzies Bay, he ran boom boats and

chauffeured the crew crummy. In 1969, he started Bruce Luoma Trucking, and for nearly 30

years, he watched Campbell River grow and change from the wheel of his dump truck. He

whistled a tune heading off to work and was a regular at the Ideal Café, and at Rotary pioneer

dinners and pancake breakfasts.

His lifelong enthusiasm for camping and boating adventures often included friends and

extended family, and so his snoring became legendary. After retirement, Bruce spent summers

sailing solo in a 17-foot boat throughout “God’s Country” (Desolation Sound), planning to return

when he ran out of books or grub. His gift of the gab netted him new reading material and meals

aboard nearby yachts, extending his sea time.

Ever curious, Bruce was an avid reader, marveling at the human spirit for exploration and

adventure. He was eager to travel and, as a young man, drove himself to Mexico. He and Joan

took many road trips in B.C. and the western U.S., toured Europe, cruised to Alaska and through

the South Pacific to Australia and New Zealand, and, as often as possible, escaped part of winter

with beach time in the sun.

Bruce also loved dancing and attending concerts and plays. He took pride in building a house

and rowboats, in his safe driving record, his Finnish heritage, and his family. His quirky creative

streak came out in soups and sandwiches, funny signs and cartoons, and astounding uses for

cast-off items and spray paint.

In his final years, he spent hours tracking Discovery Passage marine traffic and used an electric

scooter to get groceries and to cruise the seawalk, the pier and Tyee Spit, where he enjoyed

meeting new people and telling tales of life on the coast.

Determined to never give up, to the end Bruce dreamed of boat trips, and his next “smorgy” at

the Driftwood. Even in hospital, he did his best to share stories and turn strangers into friends.

(Our gratitude to Dr. Prinsloo, the home support and community nursing teams and the thirdfloor

staff at Campbell River hospital for their care.)

Wishing Bruce fair winds and following seas are his daughter Julie (John), son Todd (Erica) and

grandsons Finn and Seymour; Luoma family nieces and nephews Sandy, Doreen, Bill, Alan, Terry,

Michael, their partners, children and grandchildren; in-laws Ray and Andre; Jim, Wendy and

Mark; Donna and Sharon; Judy, Marilyn, Della and Milton; as well as decades-long friends,

particularly Don and Donna Hunter and Louis and Heather Somers.

We’ll carry on Bruce’s legacy with good meals in good company,

good stories, and a good laugh,

on or near the water