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In Memoriam
Bruce Richard Grossmann
September 9, 1952 — September 12, 2020
Bruce Grossmann went to be with The Lord on September 12th, 2020, after 68 years of service to God, his country, and his fellow man.
Bruce was born in Washington, D.C., September 9, 1952. The son of LTC Gordon E Grossmann and SGT Marjorie Lillian Margaret (Whitmore) Grossmann, he recounted fond childhood memories between his family farm in Wisconsin with his grandparents, Earl and Alice, and tours of duty as a military dependent throughout the US and Japan.
He began his service to God at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, where he received a degree in Biblical Studies in 1975. Upon graduation, Bruce joined the US Army, following in the footsteps of many generations of his family. Shortly thereafter, he married his college sweetheart, Dawn Elise Warren, and had the first two of four children, Benjamin Tyndale, and Sarah Brooke.
In 1981, Bruce and his family drove the Alaska Highway to the state he’d call home for the rest of his life. He was stationed first at Ft. Wainwright, then Ft. Greely until 1988. During this time Bruce became passionate about the history of Alaska, its people, geology, and wildlife. He never wasted an opportunity to take his family and others to explore any mountain or river, and to pass time with the great people who also called this land home.
Service to his country transferred him back to Ft. Gordon, Georgia, where his son Elias Franklin was born, and then Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, where his daughter Annalise May joined the family. But, homesick for Alaska, Bruce left the Army in July of 1990 and returned to Delta Junction, Alaska.
Over the next 30 years, Bruce served the people of Tanacross, Healy Lake Village, Tetlin, Northway, and Dot Lake, as a licensed deacon and minister. The people of those communities were dear to his heart, and the Grossmann home played host to many passing travelers and people in need.
Bruce also worked for the University of Alaska for more than a decade, where he continued his education and received a Master of Public Administration degree in 1998. In recent years, Bruce became a consummate host and oral historian at the Sullivan Road House in Delta Junction, he remained active in many city and state organizations.
Bruce leaves behind his father Gordon Grossmann, his brothers Bud Grossmann (Carol Twilt), Larry Grossmann (Alla Zoueva), sister Sharon Werts and her companion Pat Bahr. His children: Benjamin (Ariane Rosier), Sarah Brooke, Elias (Dakota Conley), Annalise and her companion Josh Moore. His grandchildren: Airman Rafe Grossmann USAF, Scarlet Rosier, and Dax Grossmann. Bruce leaves behind his fiancée, Flower Cole, as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, and extended family.
A memorial service was conducted outside the Sullivan Roadhouse in downtown Delta Junction Saturday, September 19th. Burial, with military honors, will be at St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in Lewiston Township, Columbia County, Wisconsin.
Bruce’s family has established a scholarship in Bruce’s name for the community he believed in so strongly. If you wish, you may donate to the University of Alaska Foundation - Bruce Grossmann Scholarship.
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See also
Ben’s Eulogy for His Father
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