Schulze
GordonBruceSchulze,Jr.,74ofKingston,passedaway at 12:18 p.m. Saturday, July 1, 2023 at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City while holding his son Garrett’s hand. He had been in bad health for a few years.
Bruce was the . rst-born child of
Gordon Bruce Schulze Sr. and Selah Rose Lewis Schulze. He was born on February18,1949inWatonga(Blaine County), Okla.
When Bruce was one year old, he moved with his family to Muskogee, Okla. where he would live for the next ten years. Bruce attended Sacred Heart Catholic School through . fth grade.
In 1960, the Schulze family moved to Durant, Okla.
with Gordon Sr's promotion to supervisor with the Okla- homa Highway Patrol.
At age 15 in 1964, Bruce earned his Eagle Scout from Troop 615 in Durant which made him quite proud.
In 1966, Bruce received his Ham Radio License. On the air worldwide, he was known as "KE5J". Bruce con- tinued this hobby throughout his life.
Bruce’s summer jobs in high school included working at Green Spray Grocery Store, hauling hay, and mowing the Armstrong Cemetery for twenty dollars.
Bruce attended sixth grade at Washington Irving and graduated from Durant High School with the class of 1967. In High School, Bruce was the starting pitcher for the Durant Lions baseball team.
After graduation, Bruce moved with his family to Paw- nee, Okla. due to Gordon Sr’s promotion to Commander of the Pawnee District of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in 1967. In Pawnee, Bruce worked at Cheetum’s Grocery Store. After a week at working at Cheetum’s Grocery, Mr. Cheetum called Bruce in and said “Bruce, I like you, but I'm going to have to . re you if you don't stop eating all the canned whipped cream!”.
In December of 1967, Bruce joined the United Stated Navy and left for Boot Camp at San Diego, Calif. Bruce completed boot camp and Radioman “A” School and then was sent to the communication ship USS Arling- ton where Bruce witnessed the Apollo 10 and Apollo 11 splashdowns in 1969.
In 1970, Bruce was sent to the USS Satyr in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War serving with the Mobile Riverine Force under Task Force 117. Bruce was wounded in action from shrapnel in Vietnam and received a purple heart.
While in the Navy, Bruce’s travels included Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and Midway Island in the Paci. c.
Bruce was discharged from active duty in 1971 and went into the Naval Reserve. Upon returning home from Vietnam in 1971, Bruce bought a 1971 Mach 1 Ford Mustang with money he saved in the combat zone.
When Bruce returned home from Vietnam, his family had return to Durant due to Gordon Sr’s retirement from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in 1969.
In 1972, Bruce transferred to the Oklahoma Army National Guard and later the Army Reserve where he served until 1987.
In Durant, Bruce enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) on the G.I. Bill. Bruce graduated from SOSU in 1975 with a double major in Industrial Arts and Safety. Bruce taught senior citizens at SOSU how to drive.
In 1975, Bruce took a job as a campus police of. cer at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. In 1976, Bruce returned to Durant to work as a campus security guard at SOSU where Bruce stayed for seven years. Bruce worked under his father who was head of campus security at SOSU at that time.
Bruce also donated time to being a Scoutmaster for Durant’s Boy Scout Troop 615 in the early 70’s. Troop 615 was also the Troop that Bruce’s sons were active in where Bruce’s youngest son Garrett received his Eagle Scout in 2009.
In1982,BrucewasacceptedintotheOklahomaHighway Patrol 39th Academy graduating in August of 1982. Bruce’s . rst assignment was with the Mayes County detachment of Troop L. On December 3, 1982 with three months on the job, Bruce was assisting the Mayes County Sheriff’s Of. ce on a warrant service when Bruce was shot in the head. Bruce spent 10 days in the St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. Bruce never quit the Highway Patrol.
In 1985, Bruce transferred from Mayes County to the Marshall County detachment of Troop E, residing in Ma- dill, Okla. In 1986, Bruce moved to Kingston, Okla. where his next-door neighbor Rhonda Armstrong resided. Bruce met Rhonda on June 26, 1986 and they were married the next year on the same day.
Bruce served 22 years with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and retired in 2004.
Bruce loved Lake Texoma and loved to . sh for Crap- pie. Bruce had his secret places for brush piles where the Crappie were biting good.
Another great love of Bruce’s was history, especially the Civil War. Bruce went to Vicksburg, Miss. yearly with the exception of this year. Bruce also traveled to many other battle. elds including Honey Springs, Jackson, Shiloh, Gettysburg, Atlanta, Chickamauga, and many others.
Bruce’s three sons always aced the Civil War section of the achievement tests in school.
Bruce had his SCUBA diving license in the early 70’s. He dove at Lake Murray, Lake Texoma and the Gulf of Mexico.
Bruce loved traveling and visited 44 states and also visited Canada and Mexico.
Our gracious Lord has blessed our Bruce tremendously as he has had nine lives as you will see: 1. Born dead in 1949. Bruce’s father was a combat medic in World War 2 and revived him.
2. Wounded in Vietnam in 1970 by shrapnel from a B40 Rocket. Awarded Purple Heart.
3. Shot in the head in 1982 while serving with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
4. Totaled his Ranger pickup in 1986 in Le. ore County, Okla.
5. Totaled his Super Duty Pickup in 2007 on ice in Bryan County, Okla.
6. Totaled his Super Duty Pickup in 2015 in Johnston County, Oklaa. Each time, Bruce walked away with minor scratches.
7. Air Lifted to Oklahoma Heart Hospital with three blood clots.
8. Had a bleeding ulcer in 2015 and almost died. Air Lifted to OKC.
9. Had COVID in 2021 and was in ICU for 10 days. 10. Air Lifted to OKC from Ardmore in 2023 where he died.
Bruce was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Jan Schulze Bryan and nephew Michael N. Bryan.
Bruce’s survivors include his wife of 36 years, Rhonda Schulze; three sons, Aaron Matthew Means of Kingston, Micah Bruce Schulze and Wife Chelsea of Canyon, Texas and Garrett Luke Schulze of Valliant; brother, Steven Schulze of Durant; brother-in-law, Stevie Bryan of Wister, Okla.; special niece, Ali Marie Armstrong of Lexington, Okla. whom Bruce adored and commented he would like a daughter like her; aunt Kay Dumesnil of Spring, Texas; granddaughters who were his sunshine, Elizabeth Therese Schulze and Madeleine Claire Schulze both of Canyon, Texas; step grandchildren, Ethan Grant Ballard and Oliva "Danielle" Ballard both of Wilson, Okla.; life-long friends, Troy Martin, a family friend since the 1950s, and wife Pat of Cumberland, Okla.; Linda Powell, retired Game Ranger who always took care Bruce’s beloved dog Rommel.
In lieu of . owers, please make donations to the Wounded Warriors Project.
Private services will be under the direction of Watts Funeral Home in Madill, Okla. Condolences may be sent to wattsfuneralhome.com.