Be like water

Last weekend, we were finally able to gather friends and family to say goodbye to my father, The Bruce. Once again the Erickson luck prevailed. Even though we had planned the event months ago not really know what the status of COVID would be or the typical random spring weather. Last Saturday we were able to gather outside on a perfectly beautiful day.

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The Bruce, as my friends started calling him years ago, was a towering figure in the community and in the minds of many. He spent his entire live in the service of others, making sure they were safe, and had all the resources they needed to succeed. This began at an early age where Bruce was the oldest in a family of four that was going through a reportedly fairly ugly divorce. He and his brother Paul had to step up and make sure there was food on the table, and that the two younger sisters, Nancy and Martha could grow to live happy lives.

When duty called, and Bruce was drafted, he didn’t question and immediately joined the Air Force (becasue the line was shorter than the army). They ended up stationing him in Germany as a weapons specialist. This seemed to open a new part of him, one full of travel and adventure. His many letters home were filed with “I’ve been avoiding the commander so I don’t have to cut my hair” and “I’ve painted my barracks rainbow colors and black light paint to annoy the Sargent”. Almost every letter for the first few months contained a plea at the end. “Please send my skis, boots, and yellow sweater” so that he can go skiing in nearby Switzerland.

Bruce took advantage of the time in the Air Force to travel Europe and grow his love for adventure and the outdoors. When he returned, he met my mother and started taker her on those adventures. Including finding a school in Switzerland where he could teach geography, and she could be a librarian. Eventually the couple landed jobs in Park City as they were looking for the “right place” to settle down and raise me.

This was the begging of his service to Park City. He started as a civil/environmental planner at a small firm based in Park City, Eventually allowing him to take on major projects just as the Salt Lake City International Airport expansion. He oversaw the environmental impact of displacing and rebuild 1000s of acres of natural wetlands. This lead to many environmental awards and put Bruce at the top of his field. He continued love of helping by getting joining the Park City Planning Commission, and serving server terms as the chairman.

Bruce would always have the right information at the right time. If I had a question, or a problem, Bruce would know the answer or would help me find a solution. No matter what project we were working on, be it wetlands restoration, fire mitigation, runoff flow estimation, or just how to deal with a client, He was there with support

Various co-workers.

When he met Candy, my step mother, cultivated her political asperations and helped her get elected to city council. Wanting to avoid ANY appearance of conflict of interest Bruce resigned his position on the commission so that Candy concentrate fully on her political growth. This lead to years of progress in Park City including helping bid, win, and successfully put on the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Candy passed away due to cancer in 2011, and that severely affected dad. His kids had gone to college and were leading their lives, and he had focused himself on helping Candy succeed. A few years of struggle were helped by the many volunteer positions he held. The was on the board of the Recycle Center and often ran many of their events such as hazardous waste day.

Any time the hazardous waste event occurred, Bruce would always volunteer for the traffic management and parking. One of the more annoying jobs. A few times during the day we would get a comment:

“That grumpy man yelled at me” – visitor
“Lets look back at that. Did he ask you to do something?” – volunteer
“Yes”
“Did you do that?”
“Well, no”
“I guess that’s why he yelled at you, maybe next time you should do what you are asked”

Volunteers at the Recycle center events.

He also was the chairman of the Historical Glenwood cemetery. A small miners cemetery located on the hill near the Ski area. This cemetery hasn’t been actively used or maintained since the early 1900’s. Bruce took it upon himself to work tireless hours, rain or shine, trimming trees, mowing the tall grass, planting wildflowers, and generally maintaining the whole cemetery. It becasue such a centerpiece in his life, that he was able to get the rules changed such that he and Candy could have a plot and be buried next to each other there.

It is through that volunteering that the City of Park city offered him the position of Planning Director. Pretty much his dream job. From there he dedicated his life to making sure Park City was the greatest place to live, play and raise a family. Though in that goal, his real center was in training the many young planners that work for him.

We would often be working to find a solution to a particular issue, or a troublesome developer. Bruce would pull out his favorite book and open it to a seemly random page (you know he had the whole book memorized) and ask what does this say and how does it apply here?

“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows”

Be like water

Or

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

Employees of the planning department. Sun Tzu – The Art of War

The many stories told at the memorial last weekend reflect a loving, and caring man that never questioned what needed to be done, or any offer to help.

Thank you dad, you will be missed. I love you.

Be Safe.