Francis 'Bruce' Champlin

Francis Bruce Champlin, 59, died on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 6:45 Am at his home in Drury, Missouri, surrounded by family, following an eighth month battle with cancer.
Bruce was born on September 5, 1951 in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Marjorie Mead and Francis Champlin. He grew up in Tucson, Arizona and graduated from Rincon High School in 1969. He finished two years at Pima Community College and in 1979 he completed the Boilermaker Apprenticeship.
As a young man he joined the Freemasons in Tucson. He worked in the mines until joining the boilermakers and in 1982 he joined the Bechtel Corporation where he worked for eighteen years. His final project was a site manager of a billion dollar, dual site mining project in Santiago, Chile. His work took him to many places including projects all around the world. He worked at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, copper mines in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, power plants in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Washington, and many other projects in the United States. He also worked in Indonesia, Peru, Norway, and Chile.
Bruce was an expert craftsman who loved building and fixing anything. He and Jill hand built their home in Pinetop, Arizona and he kept his old Ford pickup, “Susie” running for 280 thousand miles when he sold it to a friend who kept driving it.
He was an avid hunter and an excellent archer, who once shot an arrow in an arrow during competition. He as a perfectionist with a tough exterior, but a soft heart and helped everyone he could.
He was preceded in death by his father: Francis “Champ” Champlin.
He is survived by his wife: Jill Champlin, of Drury, Missouri; daughter: Amy of Drury, Missouri; son: Ben of Orlando, Florida; son: Jacob of Stoney Brook, New York; his mother: Marjorie Davis of Tucson, Arizona; one sister: Marsha Oliver; one brother: Rick Champlin; a niece: Lisa Oliver; nephews: Chris Oliver, Ryan Champlin and Loren Champlin, all of Tucson, Arizona; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
In honor of Bruce’s request, there will be no service or memorial. However, the family will have an Open House/Pot Luck on Thursday, September 23rd at 5:00 PM at the Champlin residence in Drury.