Louise Bruce

Tell City, Indiana Louise Simons Bruce, 92, of 2323 Franklin Street, Tell City, Indiana, died at 4:30 a.m. on September 30, 2006 at Christopher East Health Care in Louisville, Kentucky where she had resided since August 2005. A lifelong resident of Perry County, she was born in Cannelton on April 12, 1914, the daughter of Eva Odessa (Howe) Simons and Lewis Simons. She was a graduate of Tell City High School. Louise was united in marriage to Hubert R. Bruce of Huntingburg, IN., on December 28, 1943. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1988, two brothers Marion Lahee and Willie Lahee, and two sisters Leona Howe Adams and Beulah Watson. Mrs. Bruce is survived by her six children, Brenda Bruce Branscome of Leesburg, VA, Jeanne Bruce of Temple, Maine, Mark Bruce and his wife Camilla Boje of Louisville, KY, Gregg Bruce and his wife Joyce Lane of Millstone, IN, Susan Bruce and her husband Jonathan Weiss, M.D. of Andover, MA, and John Bruce of Tell City; nine grandchildren, Ann Knop Thompson, Laurie Louise Knop, and Clark Knop, Odessa Deffenbaugh, Melissa Bruce Lacy, Amanda Bruce Nash, Sasha Louise Bruce, and Samuel Bruce Weiss and Hannah Rose Bruce Weiss; and six great-grandchildren, Julia Louise, Benjamin, and Nathaniel Thompson, Amanda and Kate Lacy, and Cassian Ortiz. Mrs. Bruce began her working life as a land valuator for the U.S. Forest Service in Tell City, later becoming a teller at Citizens National Bank, and then worked for the U.S. Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, California during World War II, and subsequently raised a family while managing a family owned real estate business. Alone with her husband, she founded the Ohio Valley Company in 1945 and Can Clay Corporation in 1982. At the time of her husband's death, she became President and Chairman of the Board of Can Clay and wa active in its operations until recently. Mrs. Bruce was a recognized community leader and business woman and was featured in a cover article for Business to Business Magazine in 1990. She and her husband donated the Cotton Mill to Historic Cannelton in the early 1980's. Louise was noted and well loved for her genuine hospitality. Beginning in 1995, at the request of Governors Evan Bayh, Frank O'Bannon, and Joe Kernan, Mrs. Bruce was appointed to three terms to the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern Indiana, serving as Secretary; and in May of 2006, she was appointed Trustee Emeritus. She received numerous honors and awards in her lifetime, including The Sagamore of the Wabash Award, presented by Gov. O'Bannon in 2002; the Perry County Junior Women Senior Service Award in 1991; and the Distinguished Service Award by Leadership Perry County in 1996. A member of the Lafayette Springs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for nearly 60 years, she held numerous local, state and national offices. She was active in the Democratic Party on the local and state levels, was a member of the Lieutenant Governors Club, and was an honorary board member of the Women's Democratic Association of Perry County. Mrs. Bruce hosted many Democratic gatherings in support of state and local candidates. She was a Perry County 4-H leader for 15 years and a Cub Scout leader. She was a member of the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary, American Legion Post # 213 Women's Auxiliary, the Epsilon Omega Chapter and Tell City Associate Chapter of Kappa Kappa Kappa, St. Paul Catholic Church, St. Ann's Society, Perry County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Perry County Historical Society, and Historic Cannelton Inc. Visiting hours are Friday, October 6, from 2:00 to 8:00 PM, and Saturday, October 7, from 8:00 to 9:00 AM at Huber Funeral Home 1139 12th Street, Tell City. On Friday at 6:30 PM at Huber Funeral Home there will be a parish prayer service followed by a Daughters of the American Revolution memorial service. A funeral mass will be held at 9:30 AM on Saturday, October 7, at St. Paul Catholic Church, Main and Jefferson Streets, Tell City, followed by interment at St. Mary's Cemetery. Rev. Timothy Sweeney O.S.B. will officiate. Memorial contributions may be made to the Perry County Community Foundation Hubert R. Bruce and Louise Simons Bruce Scholarship Fund which provides scholarship money to Perry County students attending the University of Southern Indiana.