“His legacy lives on.” Remembering Bruce Bush

Known among the Valley farming community for his dedication to sustaining agriculture in Alaska and for operating his family farm and produce stand, John Bruce Bush of Bushes Bunches passed away last month. Bruce will be missed by those that knew him, but his legacy will be carried on as the farm and business that bears his name has been passed on to the next generation of farmers.

“He left a big hole but his legacy lives on through his kids, his grandkids and now his farm continuing [on],” Bushes Bunches new Owner Karianne Smith said. “We’ll just try our best to keep it going.”

Bruce first took over the family farm in 1988. Prior to that, Bruce worked as a surveyor and on the Slope. He raised his daughter, Kiana Eller, alongside his family after his first wife’s passing. Eller was seven when they moved in with Bruce’s mom to help care for the farm and they were three generations living together under one roof.

The family would grow when Bruce remarried and adopted two sons, Jon and Ryan. The Bush family moved into the house that Bruce himself built on the farm.

While none of the children had any interest in taking over the farm, Eller said she learned a lot working alongside her father while growing up. She remembers working in the fields, helping at the produce stand and helping her father at the state fair where he had a booth. Bruce was patient, Eller said, and taught his children independence. He was a good teacher and helped his children to develop business and people skills that would help them later in life. He also made sure that his children knew how to not only work hard, but play hard too.

“That was the model--play hard, work hard,” Eller said.

When Bruce wasn’t working, he enjoyed fishing, especially ocean fishing for halibut and digging for clams. He would take his family skiing at Alyeska and snow machining during the winter when there wasn’t farming to be done. He enjoyed hunting and hiking but slowed down as the farming slowly took over.

Bruce had always had an interest in farming and was known for developing the fingerling potato. He brought his passion to his own farm and would operate a produce stand off of the Parks Highway near where the hospital is now. He was known for supplying quality produce and his competition forced larger retailers to start sourcing quality foods. He continued the dedication to supplying the community with quality goods at the current stand along the Old Glenn Highway.

Bruce and his wife received the Farm Family of the Year award in 2024. He served on the board for the Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District for years. Friend, fellow Valley farmer and former board member Arthur Keyes remembers Bruce for how passionate he was for farming and sustaining agriculture for future generations.

“He understood that agriculture is the future. It’s very important for the future of our kids and grandkids. It’s important for the future of the state of Alaska. It’s incredibly important for the future of our country,” Keyes said. “He understood that with every fiber of his being.”

Keyes remembered an event when Bruce served as the chairman for the Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District. The Alaska Farmland Trust had approached the conservation district asking for financial support to preserve their first farm property. Bruce would go on to make a tiebreaking decision to get the support needed to preserve that property, speaking to his passion for keeping the tradition of farming alive.

“I will never forget before he voted, he spoke about agriculture, how he believed in it, how it was so important to the future. And then he cast the tiebreaking vote to support the Alaska Farmland Trust,” Keyes said.

The two would be friends for over 20 years. Keyes said Bruce was gentle and good natured. He was easy going and principled with his ideas on farming. Keyes remembered how Bruce was an advocate for agriculture everywhere he went, serving on the board of directors for the Alaska State Fair, on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly and in local politics.

As local farmers, the two would support each other by purchasing each other’s produce. As a young farmer, Keyes said he learned a lot from Bruce as he started Glacier Valley Farms. They maintained a great friendship and Keyes would go on to later become the director for the Division of Agriculture for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and after that the state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency.

Being able to pass his own farm along pleased Bruce, Keyes said. To see his own farm succeed and the procession happen before he passed meant a lot to him.

“I cannot imagine a greater joy for him than to see that happen,” Keyes said.

Eller is happy that the farm is in good hands with a young family to carry it on. Eller said her own son, at the age of 12, works on the farm weeding and helping pick radishes. He worked with his grandfather the last couple of years and will continue working with the Smiths, earning the same work ethic his mother did working the farm.

“I’m really happy someone is carrying on that legacy and raising their family in the house my dad built, on the farm my dad built and the business he built,” Eller said. “I hope they take it very far and keep it going.”

The Smiths have been working with Bruce and his wife Victoria to take ownership of the farm for two years and finalized the transfer this September. Karianne said that her husband Zach had been working for Bruce as a teenager and into his 20s and convinced her to work with him on their farm for some time starting in 2010.

The Smiths would move away to work at Karianne’s family dairy farm in Michigan. While they were away, Bruce and Victoria would call to ask if they would come back to work the farm and eventually take it over. After her family sold the dairy farm in Michigan, Karianne said the family decided to move back to Alaska and begin the process of taking ownership of Bushes Bunches. The move came with zero guarantees, but was a project they were willing to take on.

“The number one thing he wanted was for his farm to continue and he made that happen,” Karianne said.

Working for and alongside Bruce, Karianne said he was patient, enjoyed farming but made sure to have fun. He was an old school farmer and worked until the job was done. He mentored many young folks in the Valley as they came to work on his farm. Bruce always had a clever or funny thing to say that could make a stressful situation seem manageable again.

Karianne said Bruce believed in her and her family to carry on his legacy. They proved they could make the succession happen by performing tasks around the farm and keeping the produce stand full of local goods. And all while the Smiths shared a house with Bruce and Victoria.

“Bruce always believed in me,” Karianne said. “He always believed in us, me and my husband. He made our dreams come true.”

Support from the community has poured in to the family. Victoria said she has been receiving calls and cards from friends, previous employees and fellow farmers all sharing their condolences and stories about Bruce.

“It’s been extremely heartwarming for me, as his wife,” Victoria said. “A lot of this stems from what he accomplished before I was even on the scene. That speaks volumes to me as to how well he was liked.”

Bruce and Victoria were married in 2005 at the age of 52 and enjoyed 20 years together. She said Bruce was kind, truthful and generous. Bruce loved his kids, grandkids and great grandkids. He did as much as he could with them around the farm, taking them on tractor rides and performing tasks with them. He loved animals and had dogs and cats on the farm, something that Victoria laughed and said you couldn’t have a farm without.

“There’s just been so many loyal customers out there,” Victoria said. “People that have believed in us, in Bruce, and made it all happen.”

A service will be held for Bruce at the New Event Center located by the Purple Gate at the Alaska State Fairgrounds on Saturday, December 6 at 1:00 p.m. There will be a Celebration of Life afterwards at the Moose Lodge.