A celebration of life for Bruce Vance was held Thursday. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW)

By Teena Monteleone

An inspiring man

Family and friends gather to celebrate the life of Bruce Vance

Oct 24, 2024 | 5:00 PM

He was a man who had several nicknames…Bomb, Red, Vancey, Bagger, and Brucester, just to name a few, but it’s what his kids called him that really meant the most – Dad.

A couple hundred people wearing sports jerseys or the colour blue to represent Bruce Vance’s beloved Toronto Maple Leafs and Blue Jays, gathered with his wife and kids in the Ches Leach lounge for a celebration of his life Thursday.

Vance was well known in the community for the 14 years he worked with the Prince Albert Raiders and later as a marketing and sponsorship coordinator for the City where he generated more than $3 million in external funding revenue that went into community parks and recreation, events and services.

The ceremony started with a lighthearted laugh when Jody Boulet, who was offering a welcome to the crowd, told everyone that Bruce said if anyone showed up in a Montreal Canadiens jersey, he would haunt them.

Hundreds of people attended a celebration of life for Bruce Vance Thursday in the Ches Leach Lounge at the Art Hauser Centre. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW)

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The smiles continued when several friends shared stories that mostly involved hockey and beer. Brian Munz, who worked at the radio station and was the voice of the Raiders back in the early 2000’s, recalled a time when he was about to broadcast sports on CKBI radio.

A fax had come through on official Raiders letterhead indicating that the Dallas Stars would be holding their training camp in Prince Albert that year. With Star’s players like Mike Modano and Dave Manson having played for the Raiders in the past, Munz said he never questioned the details and was just about to go live on the air with the information when one of his co-workers pointed out a little note at the bottom of the fax that read, “Happy Birthday Munzy! From Bruce.”

Friends and family heard how Vance’s love of sports shaped his life. His careers were centred around sports, he coached his kids and often travelled to professional sporting events. That passion helped him create many friendships, but he also made connections in other ways.

Over the last few years, Vance chronicled his fight against cancer in an online blog. He was inspired to do so by his wife Liane, who had done the same thing during her own bout with cancer. At the time, Vance said it was an easy way to keep family and friends updated on his treatments, but the writing was also therapeutic to him and inspiring to those who followed him.

His son Jonathon said Vance built an amazing empire of friends, families and colleagues.

“He’s the richest man I know. People would go out of their way to sincerely help him in a time of need,” Jonathon said.

His daughter Briane added, “He was a great dad, a great role model and mentor and he was going to be a great grandpa.”

Vance’s other daughter Jessica said he was her inspiration.

“Dad, I hope one day I’m as tough as you were. I hope I will approach every day with as much energy and optimism as you did. I hope one day I will raise my kids to be as incredible a person as you were.”

Vance pictured at his family island at Nine Mile Lake in Muskoka, Ontario. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW)

Vance was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013. He went into remission but was diagnosed again in 2020. Vance passed away on Oct. 18 at the age of 63.

Despite years of radiation and chemotherapy treatment, he and Liane let optimism be their guide and planned several trips so they always had something to look forward to. They were able to get back to Ontario to visit Muskoka where Vance’s family has a cottage and to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays.

During his celebration of life, Liane said she and Bruce had plans to visit all 30 MLB stadiums.

“I will carry that dream out and he’ll be with me in spirit,” she said.

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com