Bruce E. Pueschel

Bruce Emil Pueschel, a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend, died peacefully at home on September 3, 2025, surrounded by family, after a courageous and relentless fourteen-year battle with cancer. He was 71.

There are men you admire for what they do and men you trust for who they are. Bruce was the rare overlap. He believed in first principles you could live by: do unto others; nullum gratuitum prandium (“there is no free lunch”); you don’t cut the off-ramp line no matter how late you are. In small choices and large ones, he made fairness visible, whether at the office, in church, or at home.

Born and raised in Staten Island, New York, on February 27, 1954 as the youngest of four siblings, Bruce graduated with a bachelor of science in accounting from SUNY Binghamton. It was at the conclusion of his time there that he met his wife Judy, the great love of his life, whom he married in 1978.

Their love blossomed, and decades later, they still looked at each other with the same head-over-heels devotion as when they first fell in love. They would frequently write one another love poems, and their children would find them dancing in the kitchen after a dinner out. It was an interfaith home – Lutheran and Jewish – kept with respect for each other’s traditions and a shared devotion that made room for both.

Bruce raised two profoundly wonderful children he adored beyond measure, Lauren and Jonathan, who married equally superb partners, James and Candice. His six beautiful grandchildren were the shining stars of his world. As adults, Lauren and Jonathan turned to Bruce as a compass for life, and he in turn was their biggest supporter, cheerleader, and advisor. To them and to a wide circle of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends, he was a wise uncle and role model – intuitive, emotionally attuned, and generous with his time. He noticed people’s quirks, saw what they needed, and helped them feel steadier in the world.

Professionally, Bruce made his career in accounting and finance, beginning at PricewaterhouseCoopers before climbing the ranks at Chase Manhattan Bank. After the financial crisis, he served the public by joining the Federal Reserve, leading audit teams at major banks, before later returning to the private sector at Citibank. His colleagues knew the pleasure of working with a mind that prized clarity and a conscience that would never let the easy thing pretend to be the right one. He never confused speed with substance.

Away from the office, Bruce was every bit as skilled with tools as with a spreadsheet. He tackled home repairs and renovations with a professional’s eye and a craftsman’s patience, building closets in dorms and decks in backyards, fixing what needed fixing, and improving every space he touched. He liked projects that rewarded care: measuring twice, laying things out square, finishing what he started.

Bruce served as a deacon in his Lutheran church and lived his faith without performance. He stood up for people when it counted, made the small honest choice even when nobody was watching, and was known to stop and help an injured animal, no matter how small. The point wasn’t to be noticed, but to do the right thing.

Bruce loved the beach and anchoring in the sand making castles with his grandkids. He loved his Mustang, and the ease of a drive with the top down and the road unwinding ahead. He loved his friends, and boy did he have a lot of them. It probably had something to do with his Michelin-level kitchen skills. Nothing made him happier than hosting close friends and family for a homemade meal, or watching them devour his famous from-scratch bread.

Open-minded, meticulous, and kind, Bruce taught by example that character is not a speech but a habit. He is at peace, and the people who loved him will carry his principles forward, while cherishing the wonderful memories of a fundamentally good and decent man.

Funeral Services will be held at Bloomfield-Cooper Jewish Chapels, 44 Wilson Avenue, Manalapan, NJ 07726 on Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 9:00 AM.

Interment will follow at Marlboro Memorial Cemetery, 361 Highway 79, Morganville, NJ 07751.

The family will be sitting shiva at Judy's home 96 Tournament Drive, Monroe Township, NJ 08831 Saturday after the cemetery service until 6:00 PM, Sunday: 12:00–5:00 PM, and Monday: 2:00–5:00 PM

Note: There are numerous resident-only entrances. For GPS, use “Regency Club House, 61 Country Club Drive, Monroe Township, NJ 08831”. Once through the security gates, enter “96 Tournament Drive, Monroe Township, NJ 08831”).

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bruce’s memory may be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/Brucepueschel