Walter Bruce McRae ’62

Walter Bruce McRae ’62 passed away at home in Athens, Georgia, surrounded by his family on December 14, 2020, following a battle with cancer. Arriving at Dartmouth in 1958 from Missoula, Montana, the self-identified “introverted and shy country boy” joined Sigma Phi Epsilon, which, together with dormitory life, he credited with his social development. Bruce’s fond memories of Dartmouth included pressor Lew Stillwell’s “Battle Nights.” He left Dartmouth during his junior year to finish his bachelor’s at the University of Montana, where he met and married Jacqueline (“Jackie”) Louise Wheeler, the “love and anchor of my life,” he said. They raised children David, Eric, and Aimee. Bruce earned master’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from the University of Washington, followed by a 30-year career at the University of Georgia, where he retired in 2000 as associate provost and chief information officer. At the University of Georgia he was credited by colleagues as having brought the school out of the dark ages of computing. Bruce’s activities in retirement included guiding his three grandsons to a “satisfying and independent adulthood,” he said, as well as engaging his wood-turning, furniture-building, and gardening skills. After retirement Bruce developed an avid interest in genealogy and enjoyed researching his and others’ family histories. His detailed books of family relations and stories will long continue to be referenced and cherished.