A Remarkable Man

Last Sunday I announced to the Bridge St congregation that Dr. Bruce Cronk had died the night before. Bruce was approaching his 92nd birthday and while he died in hospital he had been at home until just a few days before. When I first met him this retired cardiologist estimated that his own ticker would fail him within a year. Fortunately he was off by nine months, but the end was inevitable.

As what I have said might suggest, Bruce had a long and worthwhile life. He was surrounded by loving family and friends in the last months and his three children were there in the final hours. I was able to go the hospital to read a psalm (139) and pray shortly before he died.

Still, it was an emotional moment as I shared the news with the congregation, and this past week has been a struggle for me. I have known so many wonderful people through the years and had the privilege of walking with them to the end of this life. Bruce was exceptional in every way. We had many visits and talked about so much. He was a person of deep faith and continued to read my sermons even after he was confined to his home. He wanted to talk about them and about the meaning of life.

I have joked with others that Bruce was "Forest Gump with brains" because his life seemed to be one extraordinary experience and phase after another. He began studying neurology and worked at Johns Hopkins medical centre in Baltimore where he treated boxing legend Jack Dempsey. He was deeply respected in this community as a cardiologist and was the recipient of a number of awards.

Our conversations regularly moved to other passions though. Bruce was an avid canoeist and I was in awe of his exploits on the rivers of the Far North which didn't begin until he was in his sixties. And in retirement he served for ten years in remote United Church hospitals in both Newfoundland and British Columbia. We shared stories about The Rock (my settlement charge) and the challenge of deciphering heavy Newfie accents!

Just before Christmas I visited Bruce and he told me that he would be phoning an aged friend in Switzerland. They had shared an igloo in the North one winter doing research for their respective governments. I laughed out loud because there was an endless well of remarkable stories from this modest man. He got his care-giver to bring a photo of the two young men standing in front of the igloo with their dog-team nearby.

Bruce told me that Bridge St church had been a rock for him in those times when the weight of his work threatened to overwhelm him. He was a volunteer with our Inn from the Cold meal program for many years and had a heart for those on the margins of our society.

I thank God for Bruce. I thank God for his kindness, his amazing mind, his sense of adventure, his generosity. I pray for Sylvia, his beloved wife of more than sixty years, and for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.