Bruce Alan Petty, 77, of Stillwater, passed away on Saturday, August 21, 2021. A graveside service will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 11, 2021 at Fairlawn Cemetery in Stillwater. Due to COVID concerns, the family gratefully requests that attendees wear masks during the service. Strode Funeral Home and Cremation is in charge of the arrangements.
Bruce was born January 27, 1944 in Great Bend, Kansas, to Wava M. and Eldon R. Petty. He grew up in Hays, Kansas, where he met Bonnie Clair Brandenburg. They wed in 1966, and were happily married for 55 years. He taught high school art in Kansas prior to receiving a PhD. from Kansas State University.
After serving on the faculty of the University of Kentucky College of Education in the 1970s (where he was named a Kentucky Colonel by the governor), he and his family moved to Stillwater in 1978 where he served as the Director of the Center for Educational Technology and Professor of Curriculum and Instructional Design for 28 years. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame in 2012.
He loved a good round of golf with his friends, and played as often as he was able. He was also a big fan of OSU Cowboy football and the OSU Cowgirls basketball team. He enjoyed volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity Restore, refinishing furniture, restoring antique radios, and helped to start the Stillwater Antique and Classic Car Club, with whom he restored a 1966 Mustang and a 1971 Cutlass convertible. He told great jokes, sang with the SUAVE performing group, and enjoyed reading science fiction.
Mostly, though, he loved spending time with his family. He was a devoted husband and father, and never missed a chance to tell his two children how proud he was of them, and how happy he was with who they turned out to be. He supported Bonnie in her career and delighted in watching his family grow and succeed.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Melissa Lindhorst, who passed away in June 2021.
He is survived by his wife, Bonnie, of Stillwater, his son Brian (Chris Leedy), of Atlanta, his grandson Samuel Leedy Alonzo, of Shelby, Ohio, and his son-in-law Richard Lindhorst, of Stillwater.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages friends to hug their families, tell a joke to a stranger in line at the grocery store, and make donations in his name to Habitat for Humanity.
Condolences may be sent to the family and an online obituary viewed by visiting www.strodefh.com.
