LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Oh, wow! As I sit at the Hidden Valley Campground with my goats and  dogs, a few possessions and paperwork, I contemplate how good God is as he spared Bruce this high adventure of being evacuated at 1 a.m. due to wildfires too close to our home, a first! What better time than to share Bruce A. Anderson’s life story.

He was born 68 years ago to Verna and Carl Anderson and has one older brother and four sisters and would tell pretty good tales of their growing up. Like only having one TV in a Montana town with only one station and all the neighbors would come over and watch it or the big hill they’d slide down on the sleds crossing a busy street at the end. And his daredevil life never changed.

His first wife Sandra and  he had four children, Carl, April, Sonya and Bruce Wayne and even though the marriage wasn’t for life, their relationship was. He was always there for his children and helped Sandra out throughout her lifetime.

He met wife No. 2 but that only lasted a couple of years. It was important though in his life as through her he met his best friend/brother for life, Chuck; Lisa, his third wife-to-be; Sam and Sharon, and later me, to make our own “family circle.”

Lisa and I met in South Dakota as VISTAS and when Bruce and Lisa decided to get hitched, he came and took her back to California, leaving me, Sharon and Sam with baby Roger. Sam, Sharon and baby Roger soon after moved back to California. I went back to California for Bruce and  Lisa’s wedding and met Chuck. Jim and Nona were there too as witnesses. The following year, Chuck and I married.

Bruce and Lisa had Jara in Sonoma County, Calif., and Bruce’s four children would visit often. Later, they moved to Lake County, Calif., where Bruce built their home in Coons Flat Valley with occasionally Chuck’s help.

When Roger was 7, we lost a member of our family circle, his father, Sam. Both Chuck and Bruce took over until Sharon married Jon, another friend of our circle. After 20 years, Lisa, always loving Bruce, decided to leave and Chuck became terminally ill. Separately, Bruce and Lisa stood by his and my side as we watched in horror at what the rages of cancer did to Chuck.

Chuck, wanting to take care of both me and  his bro, “willed” me to Bruce upon his death. Later on, Bruce and I were married and enjoyed 15 years on the farm.

Bruce was a loyal Local 510 Union member. He started as a sign painter, telling us, “Ya never step back to admire your work when doing a billboard on a scaffold!”

Later, he became a journeyman for the trade shows mostly held in San Francisco, always there to train the “high guys”(ones who used the scissor lifts to hang convention signs) and did it all. When he retired, he was called one of the dinosaurs as he’d been working shows for so long.

He enjoyed his life, was his own man and helped those in need.

He leaves behind his loving wife, Glo; former loving wife, Lisa; our children: Carl, April, Sonya (Glen), Bruce Wayne and Jara (Jim); our grandchildren, Heather (Jeremy), Renee, Ben, Jason, Nicole, Zachary, Bruce Jr., Brittany, Gibson, Katalina and Buddy; and our five great-grandchildren, Serenity, Teresa, Erica, Bentlie and Raelynne.

He also leaves his loving siblings, Bill, Lynette, Sarita, Dawn and Jackie; many loving cousins, nieces, nephews and their children; Aunt Doris; and lots of friends and  good neighbors.

Bruce will be surely missed!

So as the fire continues to grow (nearly 70,000 acres), I thank God for all the neighbors, friends and  family who have helped me so much through actions and prayers.

Bruce had a wonderful life and is at peace. And as my Aunt June says, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, life’s too short.”

And Sharon’s favorite, “Have no guilt, have no regrets, you did your best!”

Blessings to you all with love and hugs, Glo.