Bruce Pollock

March 19, 1946 - April 1, 2023

Bruce Kenneth Pollock, known as Bush by his closest friends, died peacefully at home on April 1st. He was known for his quick wit and his love of the wind in his face. His last wish was to become a tree rather than a bush. This he will do after being composted. He chose the pink dogwood, a fitting choice given his love for Gita, his first Bouvier de Flanders, the dog he loved these past 13 years. He wished that Gita could be composted with him, but she died two weeks before he did. Bush the Good as he later came to be known was a loving and loyal friend. He grew up in Akron, Ohio, and kept his childhood friends until he died. The same is true for friends he met in college and graduate school. In the early seventies, he dropped out of a Stanford PHD program in History, China studies, to participate in the antiwar and social justice movement. He gathered folks around him and became an influential community organizer. He also was a beautiful, well-informed writer and helped publish brochures and leaflets on the social justice movement. He wrote plays and participated in street theater. His friend Myron says, “Folks were a bit in awe of him for he had a vast understanding of the political situation while being uniquely focused.” He was warm, compassionate, always smiling and encouraging. His friend Bill, says of that time, “I smile when I think of Bruce because whenever he greeted us, he was smiling, letting us know that he cared for us and how we were doing. His delight in seeing us left us feeling delighted.”  Bush’s clear-headedness and quick humor kept groups motivated and amused. He also could be gruff and imposing in the face of what he considered injustices. In the mid 70's Bruce spent time in Germany with his then wife, Dorothy Rosenberg, working as a GI Counselor and advocate. Upon return to the US, Bruce trained himself to become a machinist, and for a number of years, he worked in a small machine shop, until he was recruited by Boeing. He and ‘Dorf ‘moved to Seattle in 1977. Bruce became first a machinist for Boeing, then through a series of promotions, became a manager. Having worked for a second Master’s degree in software engineering, he earned a number of patents around the invention of an electronic flight bag. His last assignment before retiring was as a trouble shooter for those flight bags. He interfaced between Boing and the customers, and he travelled to Europe and Asia to support their usage. He was liaison between the customer and the teams who invented and produced the flight bag. Love, laughter, and romance came to Bruce in his late fifties. He married Judy and travelled extensively through Europe, Asia, Central and South America, taking pictures and making new friends. Although Bush the Good had no children of his own, he was father and grandfather to three stepchildren and six step-grandchildren. He took an active interest and role in their lives, being always available to help solve a problem, repair a device, or listen to a story. He enjoyed their dancing, their acting, their musical accomplishments and attending the many sports events in which they participated. He was always willing to drive them whereever they needed to go. Having been a rower at Cornell University, he was pleased that one of his grandsons became an avid rower, even rowing in the same position that Bush the Good had had at Cornell. Bush was born, March 19th, 1946 in Akron Ohio, the eldest child of Trudy and Jerry Pollock. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Barbara. He leaves behind his brother and sister-in-law, two nephews and a niece, and their three children. He also leaves behind his wife and soul-mate Judy, and her children and grandchildren: Scott and Ellen VanderWey, their children, Landa, Linus and Perry; Mark Perry and Tanya VanderWey, and their children, Conrad and his partner Haeley, Nicole, and Drew; and Risha VanderWey. A Celebration of Life gathering will be held May 28th, 4-6 pm, Mt Baker Rowing Club. Seattle, WA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bruce’s name to the Center for Constitutional Rights, at http://ccrjustice.org; or the Mt Baker Row-a-thon, https://arcseattle.org/mt-baker, Seattle, or Replant the Forest Festival at https://replanttheforest.org or Street books at http://streetbooks.org. Sign Bruce’s online Guest Book at obituaries.seattletimes.com.