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Bruce Routledge

Image by Nick Andréka

ROBERT “BRUCE” ROUTLEDGE

February 21, 1947 – October 8, 2024

It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Robert Bruce Routledge on October 8, 2024 at Tuxedo Villa Extended Care Facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba.


He was predeceased by his wife Heather (née MacRae, 2023); his father Emmett (1982); his mother Beverley (1998); sister Mary-Ann (2002); brother Frank (1976) and brother Bill (2020).


Bruce is survived by his sister Patricia Jean Giekes; and his sister in law Mary Jean Routledge. Between the Routledges and the MacRaes, Bruce is also survived by 10 nephews, 6 nieces, 10 great nephews, 11 great nieces, 6 great great nephews and 6 great great nieces.


He was born on February 21, 1947, the second son of William Emmet and Edith Beverley Routledge. He grew up using his middle name, Bruce, but anyone who knew him before he started to work called him Skip, a nickname his father gave him when he was a toddler.


Interested in sports - it was a favorite pastime with the Routledges - he was a fine hockey player, showcasing excellent playmaking skills. He could be found on many a night watching Hockey Night in Canada with his older brother Bill and their Dad. He also played baseball, and took up golf, playing many rounds with brother Bill at Tuxedo and John Blumberg G.C..


After Bruce graduated from high school, he worked part time at Safeway. He then secured a job with Environment Canada, formerly called Transport Canada.


Eventually, he was posted to Churchill, Manitoba, for three months. While there, he fell in love with northern Manitoba, in awe of the rugged northern scenery and the dazzling Northern Lights.


Returning to Winnipeg, he worked in the Transport Canada office. It was there that he met Heather MacRae, an attractive meteorologist who hailed from Fredericton, New Brunswick.


She was a lovely, intelligent lady with a quiet sense of humor who excelled at her job. Eventually, the two fell in love, and were married in Fredericton in 1971 surrounded by friends and family. They were married for over 52 years.


Sometime later, Bruce - who had a keen entrepreneurial spirit as a young man - moved on to become a successful real estate agent with firms such as Aronovich & Leipsic. His business cards were colorful, including among his qualifications "B.D.A.I.T.", which he said stood for Best Damn Agent in Town. He also ran a successful dry-cleaning business, Mini Magic, with his brother Frank in the mid-1970's.


Bruce also sold sporting goods - he had tons of Northland sticks in his basement due to his affiliation with master salesman Barry Hobday - and was keenly interested in politics and world affairs, relishing friendly (and often animated) debates with friends and family on those topics, and more.


He curled, played competitive softball out at Blumberg, displaying power to all fields and a deft glove on defense. He also played plenty of golf with Bill and his nephews, often using his favorite club, a trusty Ben Hogan 4-wood, to extricate himself from trouble (he hit the ball a long way, but not necessarily always straight).


In his later years, Bruce served as caregiver to Heather, who suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and debilitating rheumatoid arthritis, until they were both admitted to Personal Care facilities.


Bruce will be interred in the Wilmot Rural Cemetery, Fredericton NB beside his wife, Heather.


The family would like to thank all health care professionals for their kindness in caring Bruce.


Bruce’s family kindly requests that all of his friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour his memory by sharing photos, memories, and stories, using the comment section on this page.

ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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February 3, 2025 at 10:47 AM

DEATH CARE SERVICES OF WINNIPEG INC.  Copyright 2019

Ethical Death Care (Death Care Services Inc.) is privately, independently, and locally owned. Shane Neufeld and the original team of Integrity Death Care own and manage this organisation.

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