Bruce Leighton Bannerman

Bruce Bannerman was born in Rochester, New York, lived with his parents and two brothers until enlisting in the Air Force in 1950. He had earned an honorable discharge at the rank of staff Sergeant in 1954. Bruce met mom and married in 1955. Carolyn and Bruce have been married for 56 years. Bruce was a father, husband, businessman, member of the military, and much more. Here are some remembrances:

Bruce was a man of few words. He spoke when he needed to and said what was necessary. He did not profess his love for us openly, but showed it through actions….. and….we all remember the “eyebrow lift” when he caught one of us in some sort of mischief.

Bruce could fix anything, or at least thought he could. Whenever something was broken, he would endeavor to fix it: our cars, the oven, the septic tank, the fence, appliances… He even re-shingled our roof (with reluctant help from his children). He was really very good at figuring out how to solve most problems with the house, although, he often took “the long way around the barn”. Even as he grew older, he would always try to “do it himself”. We all remember the time when, in his 70’s, he attempted to repair a water line going to the back of the refrigerator and ended up unable to get to his feet on a flooding kitchen floor. Mom had to call all three boys from work to get him up off the floor and clean up the mess.

Bruce loved our dogs: Gina, Jamie and her pups, Trapper, Jack, and his brother Butch. He enjoyed watching them, playing with them, and sitting with them. When Diane was young, she painted a picture of Bruce in his favorite place: relaxing in his favorite chair, hand over the side of the armchair, petting his dog.

As Bruce grew older, especially during retirement, he loved woodworking. He would spend hours in his garage designing, cutting, sanding and painting: patio furniture, Christmas ornaments, and gifts for the children.

Bruce’s legacy is his children. Each is smart, creative, caring, productive and knows how to work with their hands and with all the tools in the garage.

Carolyn, Brett, Debbie, Diane, Kyle, Craig, Amy, Mike, Angela, Brandon, Tyler, Ryan, Travis, and Luke all very much loved Bruce and pray for his happy “ever after” in heaven.

Arrangements under the direction of Eternal Valley Memorial Park Mortuary, Newhall, CA.