This past Saturday was a very difficult and busy day for all of us here at Woodlawn. In the morning we held the funeral for Jim Bruce and then in the afternoon, we buried Delores Krause. Holding two funerals in the same day is not something that I wish to repeat anytime soon, it was a very physically and much more so an emotionally draining day. Our prayers go out for both of the families and I will post Delores manuscript in a separate blog post.
Jim Bruce was a very dear friend and though he and I didn't necessarily see eye to eye on many topics of our day, he was a man whom I both respected and loved. He and I loved to trade jabs back and forth and I will miss my friend until I'm able to see him again in our Father's House.
In honor of Jim's capacity as "City Historian", I've scattered among the manuscript photographs of Lake City's past along with photos of the interior of Woodlawn Christian Church. He did love this old Church so very much.
God's speed to you James!
In Christ,
Roy
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| Windows in Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA |
Order of Service – Funeral for James Bruce 5/18/19
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| Jim Bruce, working the sound system during worship at Woodlawn Christian Church |
Procession:
Call to Worship:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.
(2nd Corinthians 1:3-5)
Greeting:
We have come together this morning to praise God for the life of James LeRoy Bruce; to mourn our loss with one another, to console each other in our moment of grief; to celebrate Jim's life and all that he meant to all that loved him; to celebrate God's love for Jim, and His love for each of us; And to commend Jim to God's everlasting love and care.
Hymn: Be Thou My Vision # 595
Opening Prayer:
Father of all mercies and God of all consolation,
you pursue us with untiring love
and dispel the shadow of death
with the bright dawn of life.
Give courage to all these who gather today in their loss and sorrow.
Be their refuge and strength, O Lord,
reassure them of Your continuing love
and lift them from the depths of their grief
into the peace and light of Your presence.
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
by dying has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Your Holy Spirit, our comforter,
speaks for us in groans too deep for words.
Come alongside Your people,
remind them of Your eternal presence
and give them Your comfort and strength. Amen.
Hymn: “Are Ye Able,” Said the Master #621
Reading from the Old Testament:
Psalm 145:8-19
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
Reading from the New Testament:
Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad,because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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| The Old White Church - Woodlawn Christian Church |
Message: Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church
In the early morning hour of 6 o'clock on May 5th, James LeRoy Bruce left behind the world in which we reside and stepped onto the very streets of Heaven. Jim's friend Gary Dooley was there to bless him and wave one final farewell as Jim crossed that threshold of bodily death to become one again with the Father. Jim loved his Lord and we all must rejoice that Jim is no longer suffering and has truly and genuinely become a new creation today in the Kingdom of God. Praise be to God!
Jim was born January 22, 1936, at the McCrary Hospital right here in Lake City, Iowa, this little town that he loved so deeply and about which he knew so very, very much. His father was Roy Bruce and his mother Ruth Madden Bruce. Jim spent most of his childhood growing up in the little grey house that still sits just kitty-corner from the church. He was baptized by Reverend Shepard here in this baptistery on April 21, 1946, at the tender age of only ten years. Growing up Jim worked at various businesses here in Lake City, the Lake City Graphic, Osborn's Cafe, Bandy Studio, the Coast to Coast Store, and for Woodlawn Christian Church, serving as the Church Secretary.
Jim attended school here in Lake City from Kindergarten to graduating from High School in 1954. Upon graduation Jim then attended and received a Bachelors Degree in Education from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, IA, graduating in 1958. Jim served in the US Army after college during 1958 and 1959 where he worked as a Chaplain's Assistant. After being honorably discharged from the Army Jim remained in the Army Reserve for a number of years. After completing his time as active service military, Jim used his Teaching degree to teach English in both Albert City, IA and Cherokee, IA.
Jim's next move was all the way to Chicago where he first worked for Morton West High School, in Berwyn, Illinois, then he attended Indiana University working towards his Master Degree in Education, graduating in 1966. While going to school at Indiana University, Jim also worked for the National Congress of Parents & Teachers, better known as the PTA.
Some years later Jim felt a special calling to join the medical profession and he received his RN degree from Northwestern in Chicago, graduating in 1983. His first nursing assignments were at Gary Methodist Hospital and Illinois Masonic Hospital. He next worked as a nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was involved in programs at the forefront of AIDS research and care. Jim remained at Northwestern Memorial Hospital until his retirement. Even after his formal retirement, Jim continued to follow the Nursing profession and kept his Nursing Insurance Policy active right up to the time of his death. Most if not all of Jim's nursing career revolved around AIDS research and caring for AIDS patients. Jim relayed to me several times how he was involved in the first studies that started to slow down the onset and progression of AIDS. He was there as the disease went from being a death sentence to finally something that through the use of drug-cocktails could be managed for a lifetime. Jim kept in contact with and maintained some involvement with the ongoing research at Northwestern until the very end of his life.
Almost exactly twelve years ago Jim decided to retire and move back home to Lake City. Transferring his Church membership back to Woodlawn on June 3, 2007. He purchased a home and became active with Historic Central School, here in Lake City. Jim had attended school at Central as a child and after returning home he could be found right there most afternoons, working away, in what had once been one of his classrooms, digging through old news articles and working on his computer. As part of his duties at Central School he wrote for many years the “Years Ago” column for the Graphic, in recent years he began sharing these duties with Gary Dooley. Growing up Jim had worked for the Graphic here in Lake City helping out his mother Ruth who worked there for many, many years. My understanding is that she once retired and the paper convinced her to come out of retirement and to come back to work because they couldn't find anyone to replace her. Jim loved to comb through those old newspapers and hunt through the history that they retained. I have long suspected that a part of Jim's devotion to those old Graphic articles was the memory of his mother writing and proof-reading them so long ago.
Jim was also very involved with the Cottonwood Preservation Committee sitting on the board and serving as the Treasurer, as such he devoting many hours of his time. The Cottonwood Committee was very appreciative of Jim's involvement and activity. He was a very respected and much-loved part of their organization.
Shirley Deuel Miller, the Chairperson of the Cottonwood Cemetery Preservation Assn., sent to me the following:
James LeRoy Bruce 1-22-1936 to 5-5-2019:
Jim joined the Cottonwood Cemetery Preservation Association as treasurer in October 2012, just a few months after our official inception. He was a devoted and integral part of the board not only because of his accounting skills but also as a wonderful community historian. Jim’s love of Cottonwood Cemetery was due to the large number of family members interred there.
One was his namesake, Civil War Veteran James W Bruce 1846-1916, whom we featured in a Cemetery Walk by a Civil War re-enactor. He was a kind and thoughtful person, blessed with a detailed, and near photographic memory that served him well throughout his years. Whenever we had an event or activity planned, he was right in the midst of it. He will be greatly missed! Rest in peace our dear friend.
As Shirley mentioned, Jim's great-grandfather and namesake James W. Bruce is buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery and was one of those figures that was highlighted during their re-enactments at the Cemetery. James W. Bruce served in the Union Army and was wounded during the Civil War, shot through the chest with the bullet just missing his spine. Had I known this story before Jim's passing I would have teased him that he owed his life to a Confederate's poor aim... but I'll just have to hold onto that bit of ribbing until I see Jim again in Heaven. There is more information about Jim's great-grandfather James among the items in Fellowship Hall. Please feel free to take a look during the luncheon following the interment.
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| James W. Bruce - Civil War Veteran and Lake City Merchant |
Jim was a lifelong member of the Disciples of Christ Church, growing up here at Woodlawn and while away he was always involved with a DOC church somewhere. While living in Chicago, he was a very active member of Austin Blvd Christian Church in Oak Park, and he told stories about them all of the time. He served on their Church Council as Treasurer, and as an Elder, he was also at one time their Property Chairperson.
Jim was very involved with Woodlawn during his youth, among the items displayed for his visitation is a Bible given to him by the Reverend Howard Prather in 1958 for all the things Jim had done for Woodlawn. Jim was a close friend with the Prather family and I believe he helped babysit their children. Jim also told stories of playing in the attic of the Parsonage with the minister's children, I apologize that I don't know which minister he was talking about but perhaps if you ask members of the congregation one of them will recall.
When I would go out to visit Vera Mae Doty prior to her passing at Shady Oaks, I would always take Jim along. Vera couldn't remember who I was but she remembered very well the CYF outings that she and Herb took Jim and the other youth from the church on back so many, many years ago. It was a blessing to see her eyes light up as she and Jim talked about things they'd done for the Church so long ago. Jim in those visits was certainly a blessing to Vera Mae and he was so very fond of both Vera and Herb.
Jim was among so many other things... very interested in electricity and electronics, and as a youth, he was always happy to help with wiring here in the Church building. Some of Jim's handiwork from those days still persists here in this old building.
After returning home to Woodlawn Christian Church, Jim was at one time or another the Property Chairperson, the Church Council Secretary, for many years the Treasurer, and for a time volunteered as the Church Office Secretary. Jim loved this old church and for many, many years he was the cook for the Sunday Evening Service. For many years he not only did all the cooking for that gathering but he provided all of the food at his own personal expense. It was to him a ministry. He loved to cook and took great pride in serving up a meal for a group as economically as he could possibly do so. After hearing of Jim's passing Kim Anderson, another one of our wonderful cooking soul's here at Woodlawn, stated: “well, Jim's in Heaven now showing Jesus how he could have fed 6,000 with those loaves and fish.”
Jim loved to serve... though he sometimes also loved to grumble about it... you could always tell though... he loved doing it. There are few aspects of this Church where Jim wasn't involved at some point or in some way. Jim was the Chair of the Search Committee that brought me here to Lake City. He was the first soul that I met upon arriving in town to meet with the Search Committee. You may not know this, but it was entirely Jim's fault that we had the tornado strike Lake City back in 2015. You see, one of the first questions my wife asked during our meeting with the search committee was if there were ever tornadoes here in Lake City. Jim did that little nod of the head and handwave that he so often did... and stated that there hadn't been a tornado in Lake City for fifty years... I was here for approximately two weeks... and that fifty-year hiatus came to an end... all thanks to Jim and his reassurance to my wife Gail.
I spent many hours since coming to Lake City in April of 2015, sitting and visiting with Jim, helping him with Sunday evening meals or clean up in the Church Kitchen. He and I traveled together to Indianapolis for the Disciples of Christ General Assembly in 2017 and we had many great conversations on that journey. We also spent about eleven hours in the Emergency Room after Jim tripped and fell giving himself a bloody nose. In fact, we were in the ER twice on that trip due to that fall.
Often when I was preparing for a funeral, I'd go and visit with Jim down at Central School and he would fill me in on the person's history and background. There were very few times when Jim wasn't able to tell me about the individual, their parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents, and who their fifth cousins twice removed on their mother's side were... and what those cousins did back in the day. Jim knew it all, even though he'd been gone for many years he kept up on the Lake City happenings by reading the local paper and by visiting with his mother Ruth. He was very much a momma's boy, he was an only child and it was always my understanding that he was the apple of his mother's eye and that he and she were very close.
During High School, Jim had a group of girls that were his closest friends and he often jokingly referred to them as his 'Harem'. Down in Fellowship Hall, there is a photo or two of Jim with his 'Harem' and I'm sure that at least some of them are here today and perhaps they can share more stories with you during the luncheon after the service. There are far, far, far too many stories about Jim to share... far more than I could ever relay from the pulpit this morning. All of us knew James... I always called him James and he always got a chuckle out of that... we all knew James and we all loved him. Often, we loved him in spite of his cantankerous, and slightly eccentric ways... or maybe we actually loved him because of his cantankerous old eccentric soul. It's really hard to say...
Roxy Crandall can tell you endless stories, and nobody can tell a story like Roxy, stories about Jim working the sound system during weddings. For years Jim ran the sound system and Roxy was for many years the wedding coordinator so she and Jim worked together many times... and it was no secret that Jim hated weddings. He would make faces and comments to Roxy during the events and leave poor Roxy in stitches with his dry commentary. Roxy told me that she'll always remember and always miss those days with Jim.
At the very end of Jim's life, his cousin Neal Miller and Neal's wife Virginia were, and still are, absolute God sends for Jim. They took him to the hospital in Westlaco and fought hard to get him back home to Lake City. It wasn't an easy task at all... and honestly, if it hadn't been for the efforts of Neal, Virginia, Gary Dooley, and finally but not the least Brooke Minnehan up at Stewart Memorial, Jim probably wouldn't have been granted his final wish, his desire to be back home to die. I will always believe that Jim's stubborn soul held on long enough to make sure he was back in Lake City, back home, to go back home to Heaven. On that early morning on May 5th, which I must interject that one of the most surprising things to those of us who knew and loved Jim, was that he passed in the early morning... we all knew that Jim never did anything before about 11 am and preferably afternoon... But seriously, that morning, was a lot like this morning. It was a beautiful morning a nearly perfect morning, though we knew then and we knew now that there was rain ahead... at that moment when God called Jim home to heaven, it was about as perfect a day as they come on this side of God's heavenly home. I'd like to think that on that perfect Sunday morning, James sat one last time in the pews of Woodlawn Christian Church and then took the hand of an Angel and went home to see our Lord and of course his mother Ruth who I'm certain has longed to see her darling little boy.
We all miss you James, perhaps those last few winters that you spent down in Texas... trying to get the chill of Iowa out of your bones... perhaps those months with you away helped to teach us here how to get by without you and your steadying hand. God bless you, Jim...
Ecclesiastes 3 New International Version (NIV)
A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
Today... is the time for us all to say good-bye to James LeRoy Bruce, we will miss you Jim but we take reassurance in the knowledge that today you are in the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ... by your faith in Him and your acceptance of Him... He has made you pure and whole... Praise God for His Mercy, Grace, and Love.
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| The old Fountain in the Lake City Square |
Abba, Father... we thank you for the life of Jim Bruce, our friend, and fellow Christian. Lord we know that Jim was not a perfect man, none of us are, we know that Jim did not live a perfect life, none of us has or ever will... we all fall far, far short of the glory of God. We thank you, God, for the love, grace, and reconciliation that is ours through Jesus Christ the Messiah, and the Savior. Thank you for leading Jim to Jesus at the tender age of ten years old. Lord, thank you for all the years of service that Jim gave to You and to serving Your will. Lord let us each strive to serve you as Jim strove to serve you, here in this place and far beyond.
All of this we pray to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Amen.
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| Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA - The Old White Church that burned down |
Closing Prayer:
Following the interment at Cottonwood Cemetery, the family invites you all to join them in further celebration of Jim's life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by gathering with them for lunch in the Church's fellowship hall. For those who do not wish to attend the graveside service, please feel free to remain behind and wait here at the Church. Let us please allow this prayer to serve as grace for our meal.
Let us pray:
O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are. We celebrate your gift of life freely given, but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death. The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken. Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.
We trust you. We love you. We know in Christ that your love is everlasting. Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care. With you is eternal life.
With confidence, we now entrust Jim to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness. Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining. We give you but your own, enfold him in your everlasting arms, hold him for he is your beloved child.
Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us. Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.
Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another. Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Benediction:
Postlude:
Committal Service – James Bruce
Selfishly, we as mortals wish to hold on to Jim. It brings great pain to let him go. Living in the resurrection and hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the trust of a loving God and in the promise of eternal life, we now commit his body to its place of rest. We will continue to mourn Jim, but now his smile will warm the kingdom of God. We will continue to love Jim, but God will now take care of him. We will continue to carry Jim in our thoughts, but he will be kept safe in God's hands. Receive him in the arms of your mercy, O God, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of all your saints.
Psalm 139: 1-10
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust Jim to the care of Almighty God and we ask Our Father to open the doors to his mansion and lead Jim to the room made ready just for him. As we now commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we commend his spirit to its new home. Rest eternal grant him; and let light perpetual shine upon him.
God has blessed and enriched our lives in giving us Jim to know and love here on this earth. Though our time together was not nearly enough, in committing his body to the earth, we give over to God the care of his spirit, and we acknowledge that we will one day reunite with him in God's Kingdom. The Lord bless him and keep him; the Lord make his face shine upon him and be gracious to him; the Lord look upon him with favor and give him peace.
Let us now pray together the prayer that our Lord and Savior taught us to pray...
Benediction:
May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His strong arms encircle you and uphold you in your hour of grief. God's peace and strength to you all.
Amen
Military Ceremony, presentation of the flag:
Dismissal:
This concludes our graveside service. Thank you all for coming.
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| Woodlawn Christian Church (DOC & ABC), Lake City, IA |
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