William (Bill) Thomas Bruce, Jr.

William (Bill) T. Bruce, Jr.

William (Bill) Thomas Bruce, Jr., of Dallas, Texas, and Circle R Lake in Palestine, Texas passed away peacefully of natural causes on April 15, 2023. He was surrounded by three generations of his family, including Dorothy Odom Bruce, his wife of over 60 years.

Dorothy’s grandparents, Maggie Eula Shattuck and AG “Bud” Odom, and great-grandparents, James Frank Odom and Frances Jane Wallace, were pioneers and longtime residents of Cherokee County and helped to start up and build the First Presbyterian Church and were business owners there for many years.

For over 20 years, Bill and Dorothy owned a second home on Circle R Lake in Palestine and enjoyed spending time there in the community. They especially enjoyed being nearby to cousins Jimmy Ray and Kathy Odom. JR fished and hunted, Kathy cooked, and Daddy kept the computers, boats, cars, and TVs running, according to his wife Dorothy. Even though he spent most of his life in Dallas, Bill grew up in Port Neches, so he fit right into life in the friendly Cherokee County towns. He enjoyed meeting and spending time with the multitudes of Odom and Shattuck relatives and descendants still living in the area. He loved riding the train at the Texas State Railroad, attending the Dogwood festivals and seeing musicals put on by Dorothy’s Aunt Zula Pearson at the Cherokee Civic Theater. He even loved spending time at the local barber shop and was first in line at any catfish fry! He was a proud 20+ year member of the National Odom Assembly, a genealogy and social group.

Family and friends will celebrate Bill’s life on Dec 9 at 11 am at Cedar Hill Cemetery. His full obituary may be found at www.alltexascremation.com.