Small Town News

Former newspaper publisher passes away

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Longtime newspaper publisher, Bruce E. "Bear" Nisse died Tuesday afternoon, September 1, of a sudden massive heart attack. Palouse EMS and Sandy Schorzman worked valiantly on hot pavement to revive him. He was pronounced dead at Pullman hospital a short time later.

Bear was well known throughout the Palouse and Latah County for his column called "Moccasins on the Palouse," mixing wit with wisdom. He loved all mankind and would want to be remembered as a man who continually sought out his Heavenly Father and as a man who strived to live principals taught by St. Frances of Assisi. His family was always his first concern.

Bear was born December 4, 1948, in Wyandotte, Michigan, to James E. and Ada C. (Quick) Nisse. He graduated early from Lowrey High School in Dearborn, Mich., in 1966, after skipping a grade.

He attended St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1962 to 1964, studying to be a Catholic Priest.

He spent a great deal of his youth in the Chippewa Lake, Michigan area, fishing and hunting with his father. His father died in a car accident when Bear was 16.

His mother later remarried to Edward A. Malley.

Bear married Shirley Bundshuh April 12, 1969. They had two sons, Joe and Tony. The family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints August 6, 1985. They later went through the LDS temple in Seattle and sent their sons to fulfill two year missions for the church.

The couple divorced in 1991.

Bear worked for Ford Motor Company for a few years after high school in an engine production plant in Detroit. He also served an honorable tour of duty in the Air Force, after which he entered the Detroit Police Academy and walked a beat in downtown Detroit during his service. He and his partner were one of the first to walk a beat in the Detroit Projects where he was shot, stabbed and tossed off high buildings. He loved to tell friends tales of his days working in the Detroit police department.

Worried about his boys being raised in Detroit, he left the Detroit police for a job in a small sheriffs department in Mecosta County, Michigan, serving from 1975 to 1978.

He then gave up police work to pursue a quieter life of auto mechanics. He worked at Mayfair High Performance Auto, along with jobs in electrical and plumbing.

After moving to Arizona in 1981, Bear found his "dream job" working at an auto wrecking yard, rebuilding cars and helping folks who needed parts to keep their own cars running. After the wrecking yard was sold to a land developer, he worked at U.S. Motors (Prescott, AZ) in the foundry. His mechanical expertise enabled him to perform needed maintenance to keep the plant running day and night.

In 1989, the family moved to Seattle, WA and he landed a job with Pepsi as a maintenance specialist on their pop-bottling machinery. He had that job until his return to Prescott, AZ in 1991.

In Prescott, he worked as a campus police officer and began dabbling in freelance writing. He published articles in Rocky Mountain Fish and Game and other outdoorsman magazines.

In 1996, Bear moved to Palouse, WA and began the adventure of his life. He married LuJane Alger August 13, 1996, and adopted her two adopted boys, T.J. and Mikel. He also joined the family business publishing The Boomerang and LatahEagle.

Bear and LJ sold the newspaper business July of 2009 and the couple was looking forward to retirement, but his untimely death cut that short.

Bear is survived by his wife, LuJane and sons Thomas James (TJ) and Mikel at the family home in Palouse; sons Joe and his wife Shannon in Prescott, Ariz., Tony and his wife Tanya in Provo, Utah; three step-children, Willow Naeco (Rachel) in Chicago, Meghann DeBerio in Boston, Timothy Herbert in Moscow; seven grandchildren Meaghan, Hailey, Sarah, Emily, Myranda Sariah, Baylen; sister Sharon Wojtas in-Michigan and Helen Roco in Prescott Valley,

Ariz.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Eddie Malley.

Memorial service will be Tuesday, September 8, at 1 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on Cedar Street in Potlatch.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Palouse EMS, c/o Palouse City Hall, Palouse 99161

Kramer Funeral Home in Palouse is in charge of arrangements.



Copyright 2009 Latah Eagle, Moscow, Idaho. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 Latah Eagle Moscow, Idaho. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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