Bruce Sinclair Obituary

Sinclair

Bruce W.

Sinclair

October 2, 1925

June 18, 2021



Bruce William Sinclair, 95, passed away at home on June 18, 2021. He was born October 2, 1925, in Sturgis, SD, to Clyde Edward Sinclair and Lucy Mary (Keffeler) Sinclair.

His family moved to Colorado Springs in 1942, when he was a senior in high school. He graduated from Colorado Springs High School (now Palmer HS) and he received his BA and MA degrees in education from Colorado College.

Bruce started his teaching career in a one-room classroom at Ellicott School. He then went on to Woodland Park School, as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. Next, he was the head teacher at Beulah School.

He began teaching at Cheyenne Mountain Jr./Sr. High in 1954. He taught 7th and 8th grade English grammar and spelling, was promoted to principal from 1963-1979 of the junior high and he then chose to return to the classroom until he retired in 1984. His children have fond memories of being with their father and being approached by a person, appearing to be older than he, thanking him for being their favorite teacher or principal. His children have come across many notes written by former students over the years expressing their gratitude for his positive influence and compassion, which in some cases, totally changed their lives. His lifelong passion as an educator continued long into retirement, as he taught basic computer classes to seniors at a local senior citizens center.

During his tenure as an educator/administrator, he served on numerous Colorado and national educational associations, boards, and committees. He was honored to serve as President of the Colorado National Secondary School Principals, among many other accomplishments.

His teaching lessons continued at home during dinnertime when he tried to teach his four children how to diagram sentences and parts of speech. Just remember -- the proper order of saying the following personal pronouns is "it, he, she" not "he, she...it."

In his earlier years, he enjoyed bird hunting trips with fellow colleagues and their sons. One of Bruce's favorite quotes as he drove by a field of Black-Eyed Susans, was "Where there's Black-Eyed Susans, there's doves!"

Bruce was a devoted husband, loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. The family has cherished memories of numerous camping and fishing trips and many outdoor picnic breakfasts.

Bruce and his wife, Marcella, had a passion for fishing, which was passed on to many of their grandchildren. You'd always see him wearing his lucky fishing hat, hoping to catch the big one!

Bruce had a way of celebrating holidays and special occasions at home and in the classroom by adding his own unique touch: hand-made decorations, painting holiday themes on windows, DIY costumes and much more. In years past, family and neighbors alike were entertained by his extravagant 4th of July fireworks displays.

Bruce met the love of his life, Marcella Rodden, a couple of years after moving to Colorado Springs; they lived four houses apart. When she passed in 2017, they were a few months short of celebrating their 68th Wedding Anniversary.

Bruce and Marcella loved to dance! They won many awards for their jitterbug dancing skills at Hiawatha Gardens. His daughters remember learning how to dance while standing on his feet when they were young. He always made a point of dancing with them at their junior high school dances.

Bruce joined Marcella on the 18th of June, which would've been Marcella's 95th Birthday. Their children envision them dancing together again.

Bruce is survived by his four children - Jan (Tom-deceased) Wilkins, Brian (Lana) Sinclair, Kay (Russ) Rosebush, and Lisa (Sean) Kirwan, his grandchildren - Scott (Dulce), Mark, Marissa (Leo), Annaliese, Graham, Georgia, Shannon (Austin), Maxwell and Fischer, his great-grandchildren -­ Seth, Mikayla, Jaidyn, Zoey, Lacey, Finley, Jayde, Angus, Aiko and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He is preceded in death by his parents, sister Therese (Sinclair) Mariner, brothers John and Dale Sinclair and his wife, Marcella (Rodden) Sinclair

In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charitable organization in honor of Bruce's name.

Please join us for a Memorial Mass at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 12 at St. Paul Catholic Church, 9 El Pomar Road. A reception will be held following Mass in the Julie Penrose Hall attached to the church. If you're unable to attend the Mass, please join us for the reception at 12:15 p.m. or shortly thereafter.