Bruce George Petrie

Bruce George Petrie, 69, died July 13, 2011, at his home in Wasilla. Bruce gave the gift of sight by being a donor for Life Alaska.

A memorial service is at 2 p.m., Monday, July 18 at Wasilla Bible Church, with Pastor Jim Ellers officiating. A viewing is from 10 a.m. to noon at Alaskan Heritage Memorial Chapel, 1015 S. Check St. Inurnment is at 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 19, at Palmer Pioneer Cemetery next to his father.

Bruce was born March 28, 1942, in Anchorage, the youngest of three children of Charles William and Endid Petrie.

He lived in Oregon, Washington and Alaska during his school years. In 1984 at age 42, he earned his GED certificate.

He trained and worked with the IUOE Local 302 in Alaska as a heavy equipment mechanic and worked in Fairbanks, Prudhoe, Wasilla, Anchorage, Valdez, Adak and Dutch Harbor. He received his 35-year pin when he retired in 1995. He also worked as a logger in Oregon and Idaho with his father and cousins. In 1970, he met and married his wife, Cathryn Andrews of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. On July 18, they would have celebrated their 41st anniversary.

Bruce enjoyed hunting and fishing, and was a Seattle Mariners fan when football season wasn’t in progress. He took pleasure in watching his grandchildren grow and would play “gotcha” in order to hear them laugh. He good-naturedly grumbled when his wife fertilized the lawn, because it meant that he would have to mow it more often. When he bought a package of fresh strawberries, it meant he wanted his daughter-in-law to bake him a strawberry-rhubarb pie. His firm belief was that the Lord’s Prayer is the best prayer and that the words “thy will be done” is the perfect prayer.

His roots run deep in Alaska. His parents and several aunts and uncles were residents in the early 1930s and ’40s. His father hunted, trapped and had gold mining claims in the Fairbanks and Southcentral areas.

Bruce is survived by his wife, Cathryn; son and daughter-in-law, Chad Petrie and Melissa Mallett; son and daughter-in-law, Joshua Petrie and Danielle Garrett; granddaughters, Kristen, Vanessa and Marissa Petrie, all of Wasilla; brother, Charles of Brookings, Ore.; and sister, Grace of Show Low, Ariz.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the scholarship Fund at MVFCU for Bruce’s granddaughters.