Mr. Bruce Eugene Foreman (’59)
The following obituary was originally posted by Neptune Society and can be found here.
Bruce Eugene Foreman, 94, of Tacoma, Washington, passed away June 19, 2024, after a brief illness. He had been suffering in recent years from Alzheimer’s disease, which slowed him down, but to the end he retained his caring, loving personality, and his gentlemanly demeanor, always offering a welcoming smile to family and friends.
Bruce was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa on December 11, 1929, to Harold and Elsie Foreman. He was the oldest of 5 children: twin sisters Theone and Lorene arrived 10 months and 24 days after Bruce, and sisters Susan and then Nancy completed the family 12 years later. The family lived in Fort Dodge and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, until Bruce was 13, and then the entire family migrated from Iowa to California in 1943.
Bruce attended high school in Burbank, 
California, graduating in 1948, and then completed his undergraduate degree with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion, Psychology and Music in 1952 at the University of Redlands, in Redlands, California. Later he obtained a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Boston University School of Theology, and a Master of Sacred Theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
It was while Bruce was doing a pastoral internship in Boston, that Bruce met Paula Schilling at the church her parents attended, while she was on a visit home from Columbia University School of Nursing in New York. Their eyes met over their hymnals while singing, and Paula boldly asked Bruce home for Sunday dinner that day at the home of her parents Mary & Paul Schilling. After a 10 month courtship mostly by mail, Bruce and Paula were married on August 1, 1959, in Auburndale, Massachusetts. They were blessed with 2 children, Rebecca Ruth and Stephen Paul.
Bruce and Paula moved to Western Washington in 1959, where Bruce served parishes in Fircrest and Gig Harbor as a United Methodist pastor. In 1969, he was called to be the founding director and “Metropolitan Minister” of the Associated Ministries in Tacoma, an ecumenical ministry that developed and supported many local non-profit ministries. After 10 years, Bruce returned to the pastorate, and served at several other parishes in Western Washington. After leaving parish ministry, he founded his own business, Decks & Porches, where he worked designing and constructing decks for 8 years before retiring. Bruce remained very active in ministering to a variety of organizations, most notably helping establish, and serving on the board with Paula, a non-profit ministry called Hearts for Zambia, supporting the Zambian Sisters of the Child Jesus in serving the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in northern Zambia.
Bruce was an avid barbershopper, singing baritone in a number of quartets and choruses for over 50 years as a member of SPEBSQSA, now known as the Barbershop Harmony Society. His quartet, the Commencement Bay Flounders and Seafood Conspiracy (commonly known as the FISH) were crowned the Evergreen District Quartet Champions in 1977. He served as the Evergreen District president, and he was honored by being inducted into the Evergreen District Hall of Fame in 2009. Most recently he sang with the West Sound Chorus in Kitsap County and Tacoma Vocal Standard chorus in Tacoma.
Bruce and Paula were very adventurous and spent many memorable summer vacations traveling with the family, tent camping in national, state and county parks while driving across the United States to visit relatives and friends. They also travelled extensively internationally, to the holy lands (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece and Italy), then to Europe multiple times; their adventures led them on to Brazil, Soviet Union, Finland, China, Zambia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Cuba.
Bruce is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Paula Foreman; daughter Rebecca Foreman; son Stephen Foreman and daughter-in-law Elizabeth Foreman; grandchildren Claire Foreman, and Meda Foreman; sisters Lorene Branson, Susan Phipps, Nancy Wyatt; brother-in-law Robert Schilling (Rita); and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents Harold John Foreman and Elsie Isabel (Parsons) Foreman; sister Theone Ellis; father-in-law Sylvester Paul Schilling, mother-in-law Mary Elizabeth (Albright) Schilling; four brothers-in-law: Carl Branson, Lucian Ellis, John Phipps, Henry Wyatt; and a niece and two nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 2 pm at Franke Tobey Jones, Wellness Center, 5340 N Bristol St, Tacoma, WA.
Memorial contributions may be given in honor of Bruce Eugene Foreman to the Associated Ministries of Tacoma, the Barbershop Harmony Society, or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Click here to watch the Bruce Foreman Celebration of Life Service. The service begins about 30 minutes in from start of this video. Included are links to the Bruce Foreman Tribute video, Bruce Foreman Pre and Post slide show, Associated Ministries memorial in honor of Bruce, and Bruce singing with Tacoma Vocal Standard, performing the National Anthem at The Tacoma Rainiers game on 7-26-23.