Bruce Frederick Currie

Dr. Bruce Frederick Currie passed away peacefully at Milestone Senior Living in Woodruff, Wisconsin on May 1, 2025. Bruce was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He leaves behind a legacy of faith, service, character, and friendship.

Bruce was born on June 6, 1928 in Dayton, Ohio. His childhood was shaped by the Great Depression as well as his parents’ selfless work as Methodist pastors and hours spent working and playing outdoors. This set the stage for his own life of striving, saving, loving the world, and serving others.

Following high school Bruce attended DePauw University. In 1946 he left Depauw to join Moral Rearmament (MRA), an international movement promoting reconciliation among the war-ravaged nations of Europe and Asia. Starting as a backstage manager for a national tour of an MRA production, he met and fell in love with his future wife, MRA co-worker, Mary Nell Thornton.

Bruce was drafted in March 1951 during the Korean Conflict. After basic training he applied and was accepted into Officers Candidate School; 2nd Lieutenant Currie then spent 18 months in service. After considering accepting a permanent commission, he instead returned to spend 15 years with MRA organizing major international conferences, serving as Public Information Officer, and helping to establish and manage admissions for Mackinac College, a liberal arts institution aimed at developing a new generation of young leaders.

He and Mary Nell finally became engaged in August 1957 on Mackinac Island and were married on February 22, 1958 in Jackson, Mississippi, Mary Nell’s home. Their work with MRA continued until 1969 and took them around the world. It also connected them with world leaders and a generation of like-minded young people, and gave them a wide circle of friends they cherished throughout their lives. Bruce and Mary Nell, along with family and many of these friends, returned to Mackinac to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 2008. They were blessed with 60 years of marriage.

It was on Mackinac Island that Mary Nell and Bruce started their family: sons Craig and Bruce were born in 1963 and 1966. In 1969, the family moved to Ann Arbor, where “Big Bruce,” in record time, earned his BA, MA, and PhD at the University of Michigan.

After completing his degrees Bruce and Mary Nell moved the family to East Brunswick, New Jersey where he began a new phase of his professional life establishing and building community-based residency programs for a new medical specialty: Family Practice. He held positions at Rutgers University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and later helped establish a Family Practice Research and Development Center in Kansas City. He was also co-chairman of an annual Patient Education Conference.

Bruce and Mary Nell retired in 1995, building a beautiful home on Malby Lake in Minocqua, a home where children, grandchildren and other family often gathered to enjoy the lake, fish, walk, share wonderful dinners, and have long Currie conversations about life and plans. Bruce and Mary Nell designed the house themselves, and Bruce served as his own general contractor, also helping with nearly every aspect of construction and landscaping. In their retirement years.

Bruce and Mary Nell split their time between Green Valley, Arizona and Minocqua. They also found great joy and fellowship in their Church of the Pines family, traveled, and stayed connected with family and life-long friends.

Bruce’s family extends a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful staff at Milestone Senior Living in Woodruff, Wisconsin for the care and support provided to Bruce since 2019.

Bruce was predeceased by his wife, Mary Nell Currie; parents, Carleton H. Currie and Nell Williams Currie; his brother Phillip W. Currie, MD and sister-in-law Eliinor Currie;; and brother-in-law Jim McLellan. He is survived by sister Carol McLellan of Broomfield, Colorado; son Craig K. Currie and daughter-in-law Dawn Jones of Cushing, Maine; son Bruce C. Currie and daughter-in-law Beth Roseberry of Glen Ellyn, Illinois; grandchildren Ethan A. Currie, Joshua T. Currie, Daniela E. Currie, Emily N. Currie and grandson-in-law Romeo Ouellette, and great grandson Benjamin Ouellette; as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, and cherished friends.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 24 at 11am at United Methodist Church of the Pines in MInocqua. Following the service there will be a reception; everyone who attends the service is welcome to come.

Donations in memory of Bruce may be made to Habitat for Humanity, Northwoods; or the Minocqua Public Library.