Sandy Harms Bruce

Lysandra Rue Bruce was born on April 3, 1947, in Glendive, MT.  Sandy (as she preferred to be called) was the second daughter born to Vernon and Charlotte Harms.  She attended grade school and high school in Circle, Montana; a place she would call home for the rest of her life.  She attended Eastern Montana College in Billings and earned her degree in business education with the idea of teaching business at the high school level.  After her student teaching she made the decision to pursue a different path.  She had worked part time at the bank in Circle in which her father was president and a part owner.  She was hired full time at the bank after her graduation from college and thus started to a career in the banking industry.

 In 1970 Sandy married her high school boyfriend, Larry Bruce.  When Larry got drafted into the Army, he was shipped to Germany following his basic and AIT training.  Sandy followed Larry to Germany and gave birth to the joy of hers and Larry’s life- a blond haired and blue-eyed boy name Cory.  After Larry came home and completed his degree at the University of Montana the three Bruces moved back to Circle.  Sandy went back to work at the bank.  Due to reorganization her position there was eliminated after she had been there several years.  The local credit union manager was good friends with Sandy and, upon discovering Sandy’s job loss, immediately hired her to go to work for the credit union.  Sandy would work the rest of her career there and retired from there in 2012.  After retirement Sandy was able to pursue her love of gardening and doing her spring “farming.”  She would prowl the greenhouses from Glendive to Billings and filling her car with flowers to fill up her flower beds and dozens of pots.  She turned the front yard and back patio into a kaleidoscope of colors.  She also had to make sure she had tomato plants.  She savored having that first fresh tomato sandwich from her garden.   She and Larry also enjoyed spending a few months each winter in Arizona.  She also found great pleasure in meeting each morning with her coffee group. 

Sandy passed away unexpectedly on March 23, 2024, at the Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck, N.D. at the age of 76; just a few weeks shy of her 77th birthday.   Her loss was a shock to all the family and friends who loved her.  But she left us all a giant treasure full of wonderful memories of her.  And we can, when we need to, plunder that treasure chest and bask in the richness of the love she shared with all of us.

Sandy was preceded in death by her mother, Charlotte, and her father, Vernon.  She is survived by her husband, Larry, her son Cory (Fabiola), and her older sister Marion Quick (Don).  Family was always important to Sandy as well.  She is survived by her much-loved sister-in-law Sharon Woodward and her husband Duane, sister-in-law Marilyn Krause and her husband Jim, several cherished cousins and six amazing nieces and nephews.  

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