Richard D. Bruske Obituary
If you ever spent five minutes with Dick Bruske, you knew two things right away: he was going to tell you a great story, and he was going to make sure you knew how to do things the right way. Following a long, courageous battle with Lewy Body Dementia, Dick passed away peacefully at the Toni & Trish House, loved by the family he built.
To the rest of the world, Dick was a master craftsman. He built model boats so remarkably detailed they were a feature display at the Midland Center for the Arts and in museums all across Michigan. He was a lifelong boater who navigated our family on unforgettable trips along the Great Lakes, always finding his way to his favorite port in Rogers City.
Before all the retirement projects, he built a life at Michigan Bell. He started high up on the telephone poles as a lineman and worked his way all the way into management. But if you ever asked him about his time at the phone company, he wouldn't talk about line maintenance or operations; he'd talk about the people. The men and women he worked alongside weren't just colleagues—they were his absolute best friends, his second family, and the source of endless stories he loved to tell.
As impressive as his museum pieces were, Dick's absolute favorite workshop was his barn, and his favorite co-builders were his grandkids. That barn was magic. Sure, he handcrafted incredible custom barns for the kids, but the real magic happened in the messy, unplanned afternoons spent out there with his grandkids, as the sweet caramel popcorn was always warm and ready. Dick used every hour in that barn to teach his grandkids how to hold a hammer, fix what was broken, and build something out of nothing. Without them even realizing it, he was instilling patience, a fierce work ethic, and a lifetime of love.
Dick was a man of endless curiosity who could talk for hours about history, boats, or the right way to cut a piece of wood. He was an extraordinary husband, a proud father, and the kind of Papa every kid deserves to grow up with. We are going to miss his warmth, his wisdom, and the quiet pride in his eyes whenever he looked at the family he built.
He leaves behind his loving wife of 55 years, Linda; his amazing kids, Aaron (Brandi), Kurt (Jessy), and Jamie (Brian); his cherished grandchildren, Ronin, Veda, Ryleigh, Carter, Brody, Gage, Violet, and Max, who will carry his lessons in their hands forever; his sisters, Donna (Bill), Kathy, and Pat (Frenchy); brother-in-law Les; and a crew of lifelong family and friends from the phone company and beyond.
