Bruce Robards Douglas, 81, recently of Palm Coast, Florida, passed away peacefully in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday, November 19, 2023, after a five-year struggle with Parkinson's disease.

Bruce was born on January 8, 1942, to Duncan and Lila Douglas in Los Angeles, and grew up in the L.A. suburbs of Alhambra, Pasadena, and Claremont with his two younger brothers and sister. Growing up, Bruce enjoyed family camping trips and had many interests. He played football for Claremont High school, graduating in 1960. Bruce went on to attend Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. He often reminisced about returning to Cal Poly after a Christmas break with a new mode of transportation, a skateboard! During college summers, Bruce worked for Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company, where his father, Duncan Douglas, worked. Coincidentally, the money he earned from the summer job was exactly the same as the tuition for Cal Poly.

After college graduation, Bruce attended Hastings Law School in San Francisco for one year before deciding he did not want to be a lawyer. Bruce went on to sign up for the United States Navy aviator program. To prepare for the Navy, Bruce and a friend hiked over 100 miles on the John Muir trail. In the Navy from 1966-69, Bruce flew A-4 Skyhawk jets off the USS Independence aircraft carrier. After being discharged, Bruce lived in San Diego where he would purchase the first of many boats. While in San Diego, he married his first wife, Carol Douglas, who was a widow with two young children, Patrick and Deborah. Bruce found a job working for United Airlines that would move the family to Chicago where his daughter Sylvia was born in 1971. However, the family enjoyed California weather much better and so Bruce put in a transfer to the San Francisco airport. The family would relocate to San Bruno for four years, then to Redwood City, where daughter April was born, and eventually to Danville in 1979.

Bruce was an adventurous, social spirit and he loved to travel, both in his job as a pilot for United Airlines but also as a family. He enjoyed the adventures that family life brought from camping, scouting, trips to Hawaii, and flying small airplanes. Bruce and Carol divorced in 1980 but he would continue to chaperone school field trips, drive to soccer practice and games, swim lessons, dance lessons, and take the boat out on the Delta or to Don Pedro Lake. When he was at home, a typical day would include making a hot breakfast for his youngest kids, tinkering around the house on projects, watching 49ers football, and refereeing soccer.

In 1991, Bruce transferred to Denver. There he met and married Shirley Gibson, to whom he was married for over 30 years. Together they explored the Colorado Rockies in his 4-wheel drive truck with a camper shell. They hosted epic family house boating trips on Lake Powell for many summers, some with as many as 18 people. They loved traveling to Oregon, California, New Mexico, and Illinois to spend time with their children and every growing number of grandchildren. For over a year, Bruce built a cabin west of Idaho Springs, but it was too isolated and cold in the shadow of a mountain. Shirley and Bruce found a cabin more to their liking in Durango, where they could host friends and family. In January of 2002, Bruce retired from United Airlines with 30 years of service. They decide to move to Palm Coast, Florida for the next chapter of their lives.

With a seaworthy boat docked outside their condo, Bruce and Shirley became active members of the Palm Coast Yacht Club. Bruce loved nothing more than to plan and execute a trip to the Caribbean and explore the Intercoastal Waterway with his lovely wife, fellow friends and boaters. Bruce and Shirley even completed the "Great Loop", a 5,000 mile journey to the Great Lakes, through the Canadian Heritage Canals, and the inland rivers of the United States.

Having explored the eastern USA on water, Bruce and Shirley sold the boat for an RV for new adventures on land, including north to upstate New York and Vermont, and to the west coast. Bruce joined the Palm Coast Elks Lodge #2709 to keep busy while not traveling. Bruce and Shirley also came to love cruising as they got older, sailing through the Panama Canal and to Italy all the while still making time for the yearly Gibson family reunion they hosted, and to visit their family spread out across the United States. Throughout the years, they also cherished taking their grandchildren on trips both domestically and abroad.

Bruce was a kind, patient, and caring man. He leaves behind many friends in Palm Coast who have fond memories of boating, card games, and holiday escapades. Bruce is survived by his children from his first marriage; Patrick Mulrooney, Deborah Bruner, Sylvia (Chris) Riley, and April (Brian Cotrone) Douglas. He is also survived by his stepchildren from his marriage with Shirley Joan Douglas; Tammy (Ray) Vigil, Steve (Judi) Gibson, Ginger Kartchner. He leaves behind 14 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, and siblings Allan (Carol) Douglas, Alice (John) Jenkins, and Roger Douglas. Bruce was preceded in death by his loving spouse of 30 years, Shirley, who passed away only a few months before him.

A memorial service for both Bruce and Shirley will be held in Port Byron, Illinois and a military funeral with honors for Bruce will take place at Rock Island National Cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois, where both will be interred, Friday, June 21, 2024 at 2:00pm.