Ray Earl Bruce

Following a brief illness, and in the company of caring friends, relatives, and medical experts, Ray Earl Bruce, age 87, died peacefully in his home on July 31, 2015, at Talmage Terrace in Athens, Georgia, where he and Gloria have lived for more than a year. Ray felt blessed to be among friends at Talmage Terrace and to have received wonderful support from the caring and dedicated Talmage Terrace staff. He is survived by his cherished wife of 64 years, Gloria Miller Bruce, whom he began courting in junior high school. From that marriage came, in Ray's words, "three very special prizes, our three children" who survive him: Marc Bruce of Statesboro, Georgia? Brian Bruce of Athens, Georgia? and Robin Bruce McCoy of Savannah, Georgia. Additional survivors include daughter-in-law Marilyn Bruce of Statesboro, son-in-law David McCoy of Savannah, grandson Philip Bruce and his wife, Laura, stepson, Aiden, and daughter, Audrey, of Statesboro; grandson Matthew Bruce of Statesboro; granddaughters Meredith McCoy of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Melissa McCoy of Durham, North Carolina. He is also survived by two nephews, Dr. Charles Bruce, Jr., of Texarkana, Texas and Richard Bruce of Athens; and niece, Dr. Lloyene Bruce of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.A native of Morrilton, Arkansas, he was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Walter Hugh Bruce and Mrs. Eppy Bush Bruce and his four siblings. The family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas when Ray was 5 and it was there that he attended public school. After graduating from Hendrix College in 1950, he began his teaching career in Osceola, Arkansas and a graduate program in School Administration at Memphis State University before being inducted into the Army in 1952. Following basic training at Camp Roberts, California, he was assigned to the Infantry Radio Maintenance School at Fort Benning, Georgia. At the end of the course, he was ordered to remain as an instructor and later section leader for the remainder of his active duty. In 1954, with his active Army time completed, Ray returned to public school teaching, accepting a position as science teacher in junior and senior high school in Pine Bluff in the school system in which he had been a student for 12 years. During his public school years as a teacher of science and mathematics and later as a school administrator, he earned his master's degree from the University of Memphis in 1955. He then spent summers studying at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Arkansas and the University of Northern Colorado before concluding his formal academic studies at Peabody College at Vanderbilt, where he earned an EdD degree in 1966.He returned to the Pine Bluff Schools to serve as Deputy Superintendent before joining the faculty of the College of Education at the University of Georgia in 1968. He retired as Professor Emeritus in Educational Leadership in 1993.Beginning in the 1970s and continuing into his retirement, Ray engaged in the activities of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and was elected Association president in 1987. Ray's most personally fulfilling contribution to the Association was his work with the American-type schools in Latin America. These schools serve children from the United States in Latin America. Ray personally visited 77 of these schools at least once during his tenure. His contributions were recognized in 1995, when he received the Paul G. Orr award "for distinguished service in educational leadership for American schools in Latin America."Ray also drew satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from being a charter member of the Council of Professors of Instructional Supervision (COPIS), which provides a forum for the exchange and dissemination of findings from research among professors. When asked how he would like to be remembered Ray responded: "As a dedicated and caring teacher, a loving and thoughtful husband and father, and a faithful and generous friend." A private burial service will be conducted in the cemetery of Tuckston United Methodist Church in Athens. A Memorial Service will be held at the church on Saturday, August 15, 2015 at 2:00 following a visitation in the Fellowship Hall from 1:00-2:00. Those who wish to make a contribution in Ray's memory are invited to support their own favorite charity or to send a contribution to the "Ray E. Bruce Scholarship Fund" at: UGA Foundation, Milledge Centre, 394 S. Milledge, Athens, GA 30602. The scholarship was established at Ray's retirement by his past and current students and friends to provide assistance to graduate students in the College of Education who are seeking to prepare themselves for roles of leadership in the schools.Lord and Stephens East Funeral Home is facilitating arrangements.