Bruce Bradford Petty's Obituary
Our beloved father, brother, and grandfather returned to his heavenly home early on April 6, 2025, surrounded by his loving family.
Born Bruce Hickman on May 18, 1942, in Seattle, Washington, Bruce was adopted by Harold and Dorothy Petty at the age of 8, along with his 6-year-old sister, Babette.
Bruce graduated from Columbia High School in 1960 and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Texas from 1962 to 1964. He earned a B.S. in Industrial Arts from BYU in 1972, with minors in chemistry, math, electronic engineering, and industrial plastics. He was also active in the ROTC at BYU.
Bruce was married to Candiss Cooper from 1965-1984. He later married Christine Jean Haines Nunn on August 3, 1984, blending her 5 children with his 8 children. Bruce worked for Pool Chlor and Commercial Water Features before starting Old Faithful Fountains in January 1987, a business that continues to thrive today.
Bruce served multiple service missions in addition to his Texas mission including missionary service to the Dallas Texas Temple (August 2009 - April 2013), Bishop’s Storehouse in Dallas, Polynesian Culture Center in Hawaii (May 2013 - December 2014), and assisted with the Addiction Recovery Program. Bruce found every opportunity to serve and bless others with his faith, wisdom, and happy smile.
He is survived by his children Jon (Nichole) Petty, Christine Garcia, Alisa (Tom) Giles, Julianne (Tal) Ehlers, Robyn (Daniel, deceased) Nogales, Janise (Jason) Sherwin, Emily Petty, Jared (Dawn) Petty, Kelly (Justin) Terracio, Michael (Baranie) Nunn, Ginger (David) Upshaw, Jon (Celina) Nunn, and Amy (Bryan) Hamilton; his sisters Babette (Axel Murrell) Nelson, Wendy (Ricky, deceased) Humphries, Phyllis Ann (Dave) Aaberg, and LouRae (Andy) Schmidt; 54 grandchildren, and 35 great-grandchildren with more on the way. He was preceded in death by his sweetheart of 40 years, Christine, his parents, Harold and Dorothy Petty, and his brothers Phillip (Laurene) Petty and Sonny Hickman.
Bruce had a passion for serving the young people of the church and for Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, completing Wood Badge, and earning Order of the Arrow. He enjoyed taking the boys on scout camps and even had a memorable encounter with a rattlesnake while teaching the scouts what not to do. Bruce was a talented painter and artist, loved the mountains, camping, exploring, hunting, and shooting. He was a masterful handyman and jack of all trades. There wasn’t much he couldn’t design, build or repair and he was overjoyed when teaching others how to do the same. He collected belt buckles and never met an empty container or spare bolt he didn’t want to keep. Bruce was also an amateur radio enthusiast.
Bruce was a dedicated husband and father who treasured his family dearly. He was a people person who could talk for hours with someone he just met making friends everywhere he went. He had a special talent for calming a crying baby and loved to roughhouse with his kids and grandkids. He loved teaching about the gospel, nature, and how to do various things. Bruce was known for his excitement over a midnight snack, Junior Mints hidden in his dresser, and his special green pancakes with faces.
He leaves an incredible legacy of love and will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 19th at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There will be a Family Visitation from 10:00 - 10:45 am and the Memorial Service will begin at 11:00 am.
Flowers may be sent to Restland Funeral Home, and/or donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in his name.
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