Bruce McPherran Obituary

MCPHERRAN, BRUCE ALAN Oct. 1, 1954 - April 8, 2003. Bruce Alan McPherran died April 8, 2003, after being diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year. He was 48 years old. Bruce was born Oct. 1, 1954, in Lincoln, Neb. When he was seven years old he knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up, and that was to work in the television industry. Bruce lived his dream. He used to say that going to work was like a hobby and that he didn't need to be paid because he loved what he did so much. When Bruce died, he was employed by the Grass Valley Group in Bea_verton as a Senior Product Man_ager. He was highly respected for the contributions that he made while at the Grass Valley Group, as well as being a friend to many. His absence will be deeply felt. In 2001, Bruce was an expert wit-ness in the largest patent case in U.S. History. Not only did he have a reputation among his peers, but worldwide respect by his contemporaries in the broadcast business. During his 28 years in the television industry, Bruce held numerous positions, includ-ing recently, program marketing manager for Tektronix Inc. Mea-surement Division Television Test Product's business unit. As a product marketing manager, he was responsible for the mar-keting and technical support of the Emmy award-winning PQA200 Picture Quality Analysis System, a breakthrough mea-surement tool for customers, de_velopment, and evaluating digital video compression products. Prior to moving to Oregon in 1997, Bruce lived in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he was employed with Hewlett-Packard. During his 14 years with H.P., Bruce held numerous positions including market program manager, re-gional sales manager, product marketing engineer, R&D engi_neer, and senior RF/microwave consultant. While at H.P., Bruce was responsible for spearhead-ing its first NAB attendance, and its entrance into the broadcast television industry. Bruce began his career as a broadcast techni-cian at KVIE-TV Channel 6 in Sacramento, Calif. Bruce gra-duated from Sacramento High School in 1972. He played clarinet in the marching band and was also a DJ for the school radio station. Bruce received his bach_elor's degree in electrical engi_neering from California State University in Sacramento in 1980. He met his wife Michelle in 1986, and they were married the fol-lowing year. Bruce became a father to Andrew in 1995, and two and a half years later Stuart and Kaylen were born. Bruce was a loving and patient father to his three children and just like his daddy, Andrew also wants to be an inventor when he grows up. Bruce was an incredible human being. He loved and respected his family and friends. He had a wonderful sense of humor, which he shared with many. During his career, Bruce had the opportuni_ty to travel all over the world and, of all the places he went to, New Zealand was his favorite. When he needed to wind down, Bruce enjoyed listening to music. He also loved to do remodeling projects around the house, wash & detail his car, watch and read science fiction, ride his bike, and go for walks with his children. Bruce was proud of his family's heritage and was a lifetime member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is sur-vived by his wife, Michelle; chil-dren, Andrew, Stuart and Kay-len; his mother, Margaret and his father, Archie of Sacramento, Calif.; his brother Mark, sister-in-law Jennifer, nieces Caitlin, Kate and Margaret, and nephew Ian of Farmington, Maine; his mother-in-law, Marta Bassett and sister-in law Monique Be-lisle, also of Sacramento, Calif. A celebration of his life will be held on April 23 at 2:00 p.m. at Sunset Presbyterian Church. Donations can be made to Sunset Presbyte_rian Church, with the money going to technical support for the new sanctuary.