Bruce H. Dormier

1948 - 2010

(Article submitted by Larry & Sharon Dormier 01/09/2011)

Bruce H Dormier, third son of Reverend Martin and Mrs. Viola Dormier, younger brother to Willard Dormier and Larry Dormier, succumbed to pancreatic cancer on December 3, 2010.

Born December 23, 1948 in Williston, North Dakota when his parents were pastors in the northeast part of Montana, Bruce is survived by his older brothers Willard and Larry.

Bruce loved road maps and began collecting them at an early age. His collection now numbers in the hundreds. After attending Northwest College this interest led him to pursue and graduate with a degree in cartography from the University of Washington.

(The picture of Bruce on the left above was taken at our NC '60s Alumni Reunion in Sedro-Woolley, WA in July 2008.)

After graduation he began working for a map company in Texas where he was employed for several years. Always looking for new opportunities, he moved to the Washington DC area and worked for NOAA in several capacities. During this time in DC he became aware of openings in the Department of the Navy and accepted a position which eventually took him to Hawaii for several years. Wanting to get back to the west coast, in the late 1990’s he was able to move to San Diego and continued working for the Navy until he took retirement in 2005. His duties with the Navy were in management of highly classified projects with contractors working for the Navy.

After moving to San Diego, he invited his parents to live with him and his care for them increased as their years increased. Viola Dormier died in San Diego in 2001 at the age of 87 years. Bruce retired a few years later and he and his Dad moved to the Reno area where Martin Dormier died in 2007 at the age of 94 years. Bruce then moved to Las Vegas in 2008 where he loved the drier climate. He bought a nice house and settled in to enjoy his retirement.

The cancer diagnosis was sudden and totally unexpected, but Bruce was positive in his attitude that if God healed him that would be great, but if it was his time to go home with his Mom and Dad and many other family relatives and friends before him, then he was ready.

His brother and sister-in-law Larry and Sharon went to Las Vegas on Dec 1, 2010 and loaded some personal items in his car to bring him to their home in Portland to spend his last months - - - Dec 3, 2010 at a motel in Stockton, California with Larry and Sharon by his side he left us and went home.

Bruce had friends spread around the country and relatives mostly on the west coast. Having never married, he loved to travel the many roads on his map collection and over the years he drove thru every county or township in the continental United States and Hawaii. His gift to the family was his help and comfort to his parents to their last days.