William Bruce Anthony III

Bruce Anthony was a small-town boy who, in many ways, conquered the world. His long life was filled with accomplishment, adventure, love, devotion, and service. We celebrate him, thankful for the joy he brought to the world, confident in his salvation, mourning only our own loss.

William Bruce Anthony III was born on April 28, 1934, in Norman, Oklahoma, to William Bruce Anthony II (born 1902, Marlow, Oklahoma) and Lillian Marie Anthony, née Click (born 1903, Delta County, Texas). He died at age 89 early Sunday morning, September 24, 2023, after a brief illness. Bruce was preceded in death by his parents and his dear wife of 67 years, Carolyn. He is also preceded by his sister, Barbara, her husband, Gene Brewer, and their daughter Becky, as well as his brother, Bob, his wife, Donna, Carolyn's sister, Martha, her husband, Scottie Kuwitzky, and their son, Keith. Bruce is survived by his son, Bill, and his wife, Joyce, his son, Randy, and his wife, Lori, and his daughter, Valerie, and her husband, Steve. Bruce's grandchildren are Kalon Anthony, whose mother is Kerri George, Rachel Anthony, and Ariana Castillo, Julia Castillo, and Joshua Castillo, whose father is Jaime Castillo.

Bruce is also survived by Carolyn's brother, Jack Frye, his wife Jill, and their children Stephanie Glenn, Jeremy Frye, and Jamie Frye and his wife, Kelly. His other surviving nieces and nephews are Janet Stice and her husband, Phil, Ann Brumley and her husband, Doyce, Susan Yeats and her husband, Gary, Jennifer Blake and her husband, Kent, Laura Anthony, John Anthony, Carl Kuwitzky and his wife, Catherine, and Chris Kuwitzky and his wife, Cheryl.

Bruce grew up on a farm south of Norman. After the Navy bought the property, they moved to town, where his father, "Big Bruce," worked for the Post Office. Bruce graduated from Norman High School in 1952 while working at a variety of part-time jobs, including running a fireworks stand and cleaning printing presses at the University of Oklahoma. After high school, he spent two summers working for the United States Forest Service in northern Idaho.

Experiences like that fueled years of storytelling - something even casual acquaintances know Bruce loved to do. With his elephant's memory, preternatural detail recall, and a penchant for self-mythologizing, Bruce was an endless loop of amusing anecdotes and credulity-straining yarns.

But, the defining moment in Bruce's life came during his junior year, when he met 16-year-old Carolyn Frye on a church hayride. They started going steady, but, in Bruce's words, she dumped him - something she later could not (or would not) explain, calling it "the biggest mistake of my life." A year later, though, Bruce gave it another shot. She accepted a date, and their lifelong partnership began.

Bruce began attending the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!) in 1952, and he entered the army in 1953. Ever in search of self-improvement and a good deal, Bruce volunteered for the draft. "I felt I needed to mature some," he recalled, "and I wanted to take advantage of the G.I. Bill," which would pay his tuition. Getting drafted, rather than enlisting, meant he would spend less time on active duty for the same financial benefit. Halfway through his tour of duty, Bruce and Carolyn were married in a Christmas-themed ceremony on December 23, 1954.

They spent the next few years in Oklahoma, where he finished his military service at Fort Sill and completed both a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism and advertising. In 1959, their first son, Bill - the fourth and final William Bruce Anthony - arrived in June, and Bruce launched his professional career in July. He accepted a job selling Maxwell House Coffee and moved his young family to Dallas, Texas. In 1960, they bought their first house in nearby Garland, and their second son, Randy, moved in shortly.

Bruce's career lasted more than 40 years and took him to many, many places - often to Carolyn's vexation - as he rose through the corporate ranks. With Maxwell House, the family moved first to Pearl River, New York in 1962, then San Jose, California in 1963, Omaha, Nebraska in 1965, and Charlotte, North, Carolina in 1967 - where daughter Valerie was born shortly after the move.

With a new company, Underwood Foods, the Anthonys embarked yet again, to Dallas, Texas, where Bruce and Carolyn placed membership with Waterview Church of Christ, the spiritual family that would eventually become theirs for life. Many moves, however, were still to come. Underwood moved them to Boston in 1970, but in 1973 Bruce accepted a job with a start-up, mostly to get the family back to Dallas - and closer to aging parents in Oklahoma. The start-up went belly-up, but Bruce landed a new post with Green Giant, later subsumed by Pillsbury, and the family stayed put until the boys graduated from high school.

Eventually, the promotion ladder at Pillsbury took Bruce, Carolyn, and Valerie to corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1981, Atlanta, Georgia in 1983, and back to Dallas in 1988 after Valerie had moved out on her own. Bruce retired in 1997, though he spent several years on the road part-time, peddling car air fresheners to Wal-Marts - a natural salesman back in his element. For many years, as well, Bruce had a grand time working seasonally with his close friend Ray Kimbrell at a pumpkin farm owned by Ray's son, Rick.

Career, obviously, was a big focus of Bruce's life. But, he was much more than his job, and his devotion to his family and church came first. He was also a garrulous, fun-loving man of great passions and appetites. From small things, like a pint of Bluebell ice cream, to big things, like marathon races, he always went all the way to the last bite or finish line. He also loved to travel, and his jobs and hobbies helped make that a reality for him and his lovely traveling companion, Carolyn. Company trips, marathons, and pure wanderlust took them to dozens of places all over the globe: Spain, New York City, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Bermuda, Montana, France, Italy, Hawaii, and so many more.

Many of these trips were made with family, and many more were with dear friends they made during their sojourns in cities and churches across America. Some were associated with mission work, charitable causes, and Christian service - something that became a focus of Bruce's life in his later years. He and Carolyn taught English classes, using the Bible as a text, for a group called Let's Start Talking. Bruce served on the task force that founded the McDermott Drive Church of Christ and worked with Hope for Haiti's Children and Christian Works. He also served steadfastly through his Love One Another (LOA) group at Waterview, delivering countless roses and muffins to his brothers and sisters in Christ - even doubling down after he lost his beloved Carolyn in 2022.

More than anything, Bruce treasured his family, both physical and spiritual. In his final moments, he heard from each of his grandchildren, and a look of sheer joy and peace crossed his face, even as he struggled with pain. If he could be here, he would tell you, in too many words, how much he loved and appreciated you - right after he told you a funny story or corny joke.