David Bruce Haight, Jr. passed away peacefully on September 21, 2020, in his beloved Menlo Park, California home where he had lived the past 53 years.
Born August 20, 1932, in Salt Lake City to David Bruce and Ruby Olson Haight, Bruce was raised along with his two younger siblings, Robert Haight and Karen Huntsman, in Palo Alto, California.
Bruce attended Channing Elementary and Jordan Junior High School in Palo Alto. During his sophomore and junior years, the family moved to the Chicago area where Bruce attended Hinsdale High School. In 1950, he graduated from Palo Alto High School, where he played basketball and participated on the track and field 440 relay team.
A Naval ROTC student, Bruce attended the University of Utah where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity and met dear life-long friends. After two years, he transferred to Stanford, where he earned a degree in Political Science. He then attended the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia, did a tour of duty in the Caribbean, and later served as an officer at the Rough and Ready Island Naval Supply Depot in Stockton, California. Following his military service, Bruce returned to Stanford and obtained his MBA.
In 1957, he married Angela Bowen, a fellow Stanford student, in the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They moved to San Francisco and then to Washington, DC. In 1960, Bruce joined his father and brother at the Palo Alto Hardware Company. Later, Bruce changed careers to focus on commercial real estate and spent the remainder of his career as a broker and investor.
Bruce and Angela raised their six children in Menlo Park, where they invested deeply in community life. Bruce was an active father who pitched extra innings at neighborhood whiffle ball games, coached Little League teams, and attended countless events as a proud parent/grandparent at Oak Knoll School, Hillview School, and Menlo-Atherton High School.
For many years, he was a lunch regular at Lutticken’s Delicatessen, where everyone seemed to know his name. His enthusiasm for sports never waned, and his deep ties to Paly, Stanford, and the San Francisco Giants provided the perpetual renewal of rotating seasons.
Bruce had a deep love of family and was proud of his heritage. He believed in the old-fashioned concepts of integrity, practicality and simplicity. He was proud of the fact that he never used email, only drove used Chevys and Buicks, and particularly enjoyed movies made before 1960.
Warm and gentle, Bruce lived a long, full life with a broad smile and an endearing laugh. He was a 60-year member of the Menlo Park Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and from 1994-1999, he served as bishop of the congregation that he loved.
Bruce was preceded in death by his loving wife of 55 years, Angela. Survivors include his siblings; children: David (Jenny) Haight, Wendy (Eric) Kuhnen, Dana (Kyle) Cattani, Susan (Brett) Pinegar, Nancy (Verl Allen) Haight, Jon (Veronica) Haight, 23 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
A funeral will be at 1320 Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, on Friday, October 2, at 11:00 AM. The family requests COVID-19 protocol be observed.
A stream of the service will be available at: http://mywebcast.churchofjesuschrist.org/saltlakemonumentparkstake The event code is 97034.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Huntsman Cancer Institute, 2000 Circle of Hope, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112.
Bruce will be buried beside Angela in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Bro & Sis Kuhnen
We extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt thoughts in this time of sorrow to your family.
We'd like to share this message from Elder Wirthlin:
One of the blessings of the gospel is the knowledge that when the curtain of death signals the end of our mortal lives, life will continue on the other side of the veil. There we will be given new opportunities. Not even death can take from us the eternal blessings promised by a loving Heavenly Father.
Take care.
David, your siblings and Haight family, my condolences to you On the loss of your father. He made my growing up years in, and whenever I’d come back to visit to, THE Menlo Park ward very enjoyable. He always made me smile.
Phil Wolfgramm
Bruce was my best friend all through school. I missed him during his absence in l948 and 1949 and was overjoyed to have him back for that last year. A warmer and friendlier person I've never known. He was always happy and friendly. It was great to see him at the 50th reunion.
MY deepest condolences go to his family. I understand your loss. It's the world's loss too.
Lo sentimos mucho querido Presidente , Obispo y gran Amigo .
Lo queremos Mucho
Wishing my deepest condolences to the Haight family!! Bishop Bruce Haight was a beloved member of the community where I grew up in Menlo Park. He was such a blessing to be around in my early years and even when I left the area, his life lessons of love, friendship and obedience to God have never left me. Even now as I serve as a Bishop, I draw back to those memories of him and his sweet wife Angela for strength. I’m happy to know with a surety that he is with her again and content to be reunited with her. My love to his posterity especially those whom I know. God be with you till we meet again Bishop Haight!!
I was sorry to hear of Bruce's passing. I offer the entire Haight family my deepest sympathies. Bruce and Angela were the closest thing I had to parents in the SF Bay Area. (I doubt I was the only one who felt this way.) The spark in Angela's eye and Bruce's calm and knowing smile always made me feel at home. They were very close to my hearts and will long be fondly remembered.
My heartfelt condolences to the Haight family. I always enjoyed David’s warm cheerful countenance when Blaine and I saw him at various Huntsman family gatherings. Here is a passage that gave me comfort when I lost Blaine. From the great Anne Lamott....
“You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
My condolences and deepest sympathy to all family and friends.
What a dear friend and ever faithful leader and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. In one sense, we are sad to learn of Bruce's passing. In the other sense we are happy for him to rejoin Angela, his parents and the many friends who were a part of his life. He left a great example to all of us who knew him. With kind regards to his children and posterity for whom he served and taught so faithfully. He truly lived a full and purposeful life and, will continue to do so in the life beyond.