Bruce McArthur Bloxom was born on August 19, 1938 and passed away on October 9, 2020
Bruce was one of the gentlest, kindest souls I’ve ever known.
He and Annie were both so lucky to have found each other.
That Bruce passed so soon after Annie was sad, but no surprise; they were each other’s soulmates.
We’ve lost Bruce, but he will remain in our thoughts.
I met Bruce and Anne in the early part of 1995 when I became a lead singer in the Monterey Cypressaires Chorus and Quartets of where Bruce was a tenor. He also did everything from director, secretary, treasurer and so on. A wonderful man. Here is poem for him and Anne.
‘You and Anne are now together in paradise,
holding hands and walking side by side so nice,
no more worries or pain or crying or fear,
only good health, joy and happiness up here,
a new life of radiance and warmth in the sun,
it’s God’s gift to you two for the good you have done,
you both have left with us many memories of love,
which we cherish and thank you both in heaven above,
one more thing in this farewell I’d like to say,
Thanks Bruce and Anne for enhancing my life along your way.
Goodbye dear friends.
To all classmates,
I know that my beloved husband Peder, who I lost in 2007, would have sent condolences to the family of Bruce Bloxom. I know that Bruce and Peder were close friends for many years, and if I am right, I think they made beautiful folk music together.
Rest In Peace Bruce,
Sally Anne West Knudson sally@sallywest.com
Essay
Like many of our classmates, I was attracted to the study of ideas, per se, turning my deaf left ear to the taunts of those who viewed this as mere ivory-towerism. So, after college, I traversed graduate school and a post-doc, and, after seven ponderous years, obtained gainful employment as a university faculty member. Once in that position, I moved up through the academic ranks at a snail’s pace. Although my research earned me the status of Fellow in three research societies (including AAAS), I think that the university valued me most as a steadfast attendee of committee meetings.
I was never a font of original ideas, nor was I particularly good at eliciting them from others. I was content with trying to understand, synthesize, and utilize the accomplishments of others in the field of psychological measurement. I particularly enjoyed the use of mathematical and statistical ideas to obtain objective — i.e., falsifiable — indicators of psychological processes. This led to teaching courses in psychological measurement and statistics in academia and, later on, to creating a 20-person office for research and development of a military-entrance test.
My wife, Anne, accompanied and greatly helped me through this career, particularly when the going got heavy. Her energy, wisdom, research savvy, and organizational skills were indispensable when I took on:
(a) an editorship that started with a neglected backlog of 90 manuscripts requiring reviewers and processing as soon as possible;
(b) a conference to be led, hosted, and organized for a research society that was in political turmoil; and
(c) the start and operation of a 20-position government testing office, where I was the acting chief and the only employee, and where a hiring freeze was in effect.
I retired from the last of my professional roles — a journal editor — in 2006. Since then, I have been enjoying the search for self-generated aesthetic experiences, always looking and listening for signs of work well done. Sometimes they occur when I am singing in small a cappella ensembles. Sometimes they appear when I am constructing something with my hands or seeking the mellow sound of another era on the nylon strings of an old banjo. When I am really lucky, I find the joy of sharing these experiences with Anne, other family members, and good friends.