Earle Bruce Nelson M’83
Earle Bruce Nelson, Duxbury, VT, died July 30, 2015, the College learned recently.
Bruce died at Rowan Court in Barre, where he had been a resident for almost two years.
He grew up on his father’s dairy farm in Newbury, VT, participating in Boy Scouts and attending schools there and graduating as valedictorian of the Newbury High School class of 1965.
He continued his education at the University of Vermont, where he majored in geography and was a member of Phi Mu Delta. After graduation, he began working toward a master’s degree in Latin American studies but had to end that pursuit three credits shy of a degree because of his wife’s illness. In 1982, he earned a master’s degree in counseling from Saint Michael’s College.
His 35-year career with the Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation began as a houseparent at Wasson Hall in Waterbury. He served in many vocational rehabilitation positions, the last one being organization and operations analyst for the division, but counselor was the position he found most fulfilling. Bruce reluctantly retired in 2006 after a stroke.
Bruce enjoyed hearing and making music all his life, singing and playing the piano and saxophone. The organization Up With People invited him to go on tour while he was in high school, but Bruce preferred to complete his studies.
While at UVM, Bruce worked at the Pringle Herbarium under the supervision of botanist and minister Frank C. Seymour. He met the boss’s daughter Catherine and married her June 21, 1969, at College Street Congregational Church in Burlington, with the Rev. Seymour officiating at the service. He traveled to Nicaragua twice with his father-in-law, collecting plant specimens and observing plazas for his Latin American studies.
Bruce and Catherine made their first home in South Burlington, and moved to Montpelier after he was hired by the state government. In 1976, they moved to Duxbury, and had resided there since.
In addition to house parenting, Bruce’s first job included teaching ceramics to occupants of the locked ward of the Vermont State Hospital. He and his wife quickly learned and enjoyed making ceramics, opening their own studio, The Kiln Sitter, in Duxbury. Bruce was active the Vermont Ceramic League, serving in various positions, including chairman of the annual ceramic show.
When Catherine became active in the Vermont chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America, Bruce did too, serving on the board of directors, as treasurer, and as walkathon chairman. He was always supportive of her during her illness and surgeries, a more than attentive husband.
Bruce’s hobbies included his vegetable garden, canning its produce and making assorted jams, jellies and condiments. He began collecting stamps during his recovery from his first brain tumor and continued to do so the rest of his life. He tried oil painting with instruction from Roy Earl, a member of the Barre Paletteers. He enjoyed photography as a teenager and developed his skill, especially in photographing nature.
His and Catherine’s “children” were cats, most notably Stanley, whom he dearly loved, and, most recently, feisty Gracie.
He was a member of the Duxbury Historical Society; the First Congregational Church of Newbury, Vt.; the Vermont chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America; Phi Mu Delta; and the Vermont State Employees Association.
He will be remembered for his strong will, wonderful sense of humor, artistic and musical talent and ability to care for everyone he knew.
Survivors include his wife, Catherine, a sister, a brother and extended family.