Bruce William Brockway was born in Bellingham on Oct. 4, 1923, and passed away in Oak Harbor on Jan. 23, 2009. His parents, Benjamin Harvey and Kathryn Brockway, preceded him in death. He and his older brother, Robert, were raised on a chicken farm in the Bellingham area. He graduated from Whatcom High in 1941.

After two quarters of college, World War II broke out, and he moved to Bremerton to work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. In December 1943, he joined the Army/Air Force and served overseas. While serving our country, Bruce flew 24 missions with the 5th Air Force in B-24’s manning the tail position. He earned the American Theater Ribbon, APT Ribbon with 3 Bronze Battle Stars, PL Ribbon with 1 Bronze Battle Star, the Good Conduct Medal, Air Medal with 1 Bronze Cluster, WD GO 843 Hq FEAF 45 1 Overseas Service Bar, and World War II Victory Medal.

Bruce married Iris Mae DeVore in Bremerton on Sept. 8, 1945. After being honorably discharged Oct. 27, 1945, they moved back to Bremerton where Bruce built their first home. He drove a logging truck for a while, then went back to work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. A son, Loren Bruce, was born Dec. 22, 1946. Loren was a little over a year old when they moved to the Seattle area. While living there, a daughter, Linda Anne, was born August 3, 1948.

Two years later, the family moved to Anchor Point, Alaska, where Bruce applied for and received a permit for 114 acres under the Homestead Act. He built another family home on this property, helped build the first schoolhouse in the area, and a general store. Two more children were born while living there. A daughter, Faith Ellen, was born Jan. 24, 1951, and a son, Gale Lee, was born on June 5, 1952.

The following August, the whole family flew back down to Seattle and settled in the north end where Bruce again built another family home. Another daughter, Juanita Joy, was born May 18, 1956. Nathan Benjamin was born July 30, 1960, giving Bruce and Iris three sons and three daughters. During this time, Bruce worked for Boeing as a machinist. He retired from Boeing in 1977, and built a log home for their retirement living.

In 1983, Bruce and Iris moved to Desert Hot Springs, Calif., where they lived for the next 24 years. In 2007, they moved back to Oak Harbor, where Bruce passed away.

A memorial will be held Saturday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. at Living Word Fellowship in Oak Harbor.

Bruce is survived by his wife, Iris, who resides at Summer Hill. He is also survived by five of his grown children, Linda Williams of Oak Harbor, Faith Jernberg of Oak Harbor, Gale Brockway of Colorado Springs, Juanita Bunch of Seattle, and Nathan Brockway of Oak Harbor and his older brother, Robert. He was preceded in death by his adult son Loren and his granddaughter Bridget. Arrangements were entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel, where friends and family may visit www.burleyfurneralchapel.com to sign a guest book for him.