On October 17, Michael Reagan’s grandpa crossed the final finish line at the age of 97.
Bruce Grove’s enthusiasm and zest for life, his can-do attitude, and his refusal to let age alter his activities or outlook made him really special. He could be used as a textbook in growing old gracefully - demonstrating how to seize the day, every day (in fact he spoke to high school classes on the subject).
Throughout his career in forestry, which began in 1929, he was highly committed to the work he loved. After he retired in 1978 after forty-nine years as a forester with the U.S. Forest Service and Hoff Lumber Company, he threw himself into many new activities with the gusto previously given his work.
He immediately took several classes at BSU (which irritated him as he was a proud Vandal, but University of Idaho Boise didn’t have a Boise Center then). Mycology, the study of mushrooms, really captured his imagination and gave him a new reason for spending more time in Idaho’s forests.
“I loved weekends with my grandparents in McCall when my brother and I were little,” Michael remembers. “Our grandpa loved the woods. He passed along his passion for hunting morel mushrooms, which has become an annual family tradition in my family today. Well into his eighties, I remember him scaling steep banks to get to the prized fungi.”
Needing a winter activity, Bruce learned to ski at the age of 66 and joined the Prime Timers, a group of seniors who skied together midweek. He was thrilled with skiing - the mountains, the physical challenge, the competition. He relished NASTAR races and took pride in his “Best Crash” trophy. That trophy represented his philosophy of life - to just “go for it” no matter how old you are or what your limitations might be. He continued skiing, sometimes four times a week, until the age of 88 when doctor’s orders forced him to quit.
Following a few summers of playing tennis, (which he started at 67), Bruce found his real passion: race walking. Within a short time, he was a fixture at all the local running races, not only winning his age division, but very frequently being in the top five walkers of all ages. He then began a crusade for senior equality in the races, pushing for age group categories beyond 65+. His tenacity, determination, and letter writing finally resulted in race policy changes. As he got older, his race times got faster, ultimately walking at nearly an eleven-minute mile pace. At age 80, he “walked” the Race to Roby Creek beating most casual runners. His times from the Idaho Senior Games shattered National Senior Games qualifying times. As the years piled up, so did the awards. So many ribbons and medals hung from every appendage of a nine-foot sailfish, which he caught in Acapulco. His final race was at age 90.
Pictured with the big fish: Michael Reagan, Bruce Groves, Scott Reagan
“He was a bull in a china shop, but had a heart of gold,” explained Michael’s brother Scott. “If you ever asked for something, he would jump up and get it - sometimes giving himself a slap in the butt to get it in gear.”
One of the Reagan family’s favorite stories involved Bruce’s Ford Pinto, the grandkid’s Star Wars collection and a five-gallon bucket of roofing tar. Scott remembered:
One day, circa 1982, we were going to hang out with Grandpa while he was doing some roof work. We brought all of our Star Wars toys, which consisted of a dozen or so prized characters and an X-Wing and Tie Fighter. Michael and I were happily buckled up in the back (unaware of the tragedy about to unfold or the general danger associated with riding in the back seat of a Ford Pinto hatchback), while our toys were on the floor of the passenger seat. The five-gallon drum of liquid roofing tar got to ride shotgun in the passenger seat. One quick stop and the Pinto along with our Star Wars universe instantly became a rolling tar pit. Many tears were shed as Grandpa Groves selflessly tried to revert our Storm Troopers from tar-stained-brown back to Princess-Lea-virgin-white. And Grandpa’s sad, little green Pinto oozed brown goo from then on.
Family stories abound, many illustrating his ‘no problem, can-do’, fearless attitude. Nothing stopped Bruce. He had had a lifetime of perpetual motion and excellence. Yet when two major strokes slowed his step at 94, he never complained and he refused to quit. Bruce remained active and unfailingly kind, good-natured, witty, and determined.
“He was the definition of passion and persistence,” said Michael. “His example is one I will try to live up to everyday for the rest of my life.”
Read the In Remembrance article featuring Bruce V. Groves in the Idaho Statesman.
i think the best roofing are ceramic based because it is a very good insulator.-*,