Bruce Alan Nagle

Bruce grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where he developed a lifelong love for beer and crab cakes. Directly after graduating high school, Bruce joined the Air Force as a navigator. Just a few years later, he married the love of his life, Mary, whom he had met when he was only thirteen years old. He then entered training to become a pilot—a career to which he devoted himself until he retired in 1984 in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida after 30 years of service. During his time in the Air Force, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree from Troy State University. Bruce’s military service provided him and his family the opportunity to travel the world, live in countries including Germany, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Korea, and experience new cultures and friendships that he cherished for years.

Following his retirement from the military, Bruce moved to Jacksonville, Florida to start his next chapter: a career teaching business and real estate classes at Florida Community College at Jacksonville. Beyond his teaching career, Bruce committed his time to helping others, serving and leading several work- and community-related organizations. His generosity was and is appreciated by those who knew and loved him. After retiring from his position at the college, he continued to feed his passion for teaching by serving as a substitute teacher at The Bolles School, a job he held until his early 80s. Throughout both his military and teaching careers, Bruce was known for his sense of humor, as well as his keen sense of direction, which allowed him to enjoy traveling any area, whether familiar or unfamiliar.

Bruce was preceded in death by his parents Harry and Marie Nagle, his brothers Charles, Jack, and Lee Nagle, and his sister Joan Flanagan. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mary Lease, and his children Timothy Nagle, Jennifer Hardey, and Sarah Cannella. He is also survived by six grandchildren—Kristopher Nagle, Geoffrey Nagle, Joshuah Nagle, Jessica Lewis, Samantha Hardey, and Kerry Abernethy-Cannella—as well as two great grandchildren, Samule Nagle and Ethen Nagle.

Services will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on October 20, 2023 at 2:15 PM. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Dementia Society of America.