Bruce Wayne Marker, 67, passed away peacefully on June 26, 2018 at Brewster Village in Appleton, WI after a brief illness. He was born in Wilmington, DE; August 25, 1950 son of the late W. Robert Marker and Carolyn (Wayland) Anderson. First and foremost, Bruce had a deep love of God and was quick to share the Gospel with anyone, no matter the circumstances!
He loved helping others and took his role as counselor and elder seriously, always trying to guide people through the Word. He trusted in his Savior and knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would spend eternity with His Father in heaven. Bruce graduated from Middletown High School in 1968 and attended the University of Delaware until he enlisted in the Navy in 1970.
While serving in the Navy, he met the love of his life, Carol Gorges, and they married in 1971 and were to celebrate 47 years of marriage this year. While in the Navy they lived in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and then Athens, Greece. The last 2 1/2 years of his Navy career were spent stationed in Greece and allowed he & Carol to travel extensively through Greece and many other countries around the Mediterranean.
In 1975 after getting out of the Navy he moved with Carol to Delaware City, DE where they lived for the next 39 years. He graduated from Delaware Tech and worked for the Delaware Department of Transportation until his retirement, and then started a second career as a certified Christian counselor at his church, Glasgow Reformed Presbyterian Church in Glasgow, DE, where he also served as an elder for 23 years. He loved going to Japan on short-term missions trips, also serving in the Dominican Republic and assisting with Hurricane Katrina relief.
Bruce loved sports and coached the Steelers to many years of victory for the Greater Newark Flag Football League in Delaware and then coached and played softball for his church where he developed many deep friendships. He was actively involved in the Delaware City Jaycees as well as the Delaware Jaycees, serving in many different capacities. He was a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan and was thrilled when they won the Super Bowl this year.
In 2014 he and his wife moved to Wisconsin to be closer to her family. In Wisconsin he loved ringing bells for the Salvation Army at Christmas time, and also volunteered in their food pantry until his illness. He was involved at Emmaus Road Presbyterian Church where he served as an elder and counseling others as needed.
He loved his “new” church and all the friends he became so close with there. Bruce loved to travel, especially to see his children and grandchildren in North Carolina and Idaho and stopping at all sorts of places in between. Besides visiting NC & ID, his most favorite place to visit was the state of Maine, a state he fell in love with and visited yearly to hike and explore.
He loved history and took any opportunity to visit historic sites everywhere he went. He was always active, enjoying walking, hiking, biking, climbing, and just exploring God’s beautiful creation. He had a quick wit, a wild sense of humor, and loved making his grandchildren laugh.
He loved playing games – Dominoes, Ticket to Ride, Rook and ping pong with his family. He will be sadly missed by his wife Carol; his son Cory and daughter-in-law Amanda of North Carolina (children Graham, Lowell and Indira), and his son Jason and daughter-in-law Jennefer (children Aderyn and Lanyon) of Idaho. He had a special bond with each of his grandchildren.
He and Graham had a yearly tradition of watching the entire Lord of the Rings series. He and Lowell loved to walk and bike together. Indira loved snuggling with him to read and also dancing with him when he dressed up in his Navy uniform.
Aderyn loved hearing him tell jokes. Lanyon loved to go snowshoeing with him and feeding him through his feeding tube. He is also survived by his sister Linda Bailey (Jim), brothers Gary, Bryan (Karen) and Gregg, all of Delaware, his mother-in-law June Gorges, his brother-in-law Terry Gorges (Susan) and many other cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Bruce was preceded in death by his parents, his sister-in-law Debbie, and his father-in-law Melvin. Funeral Service for Bruce will be 11:00 AM on Monday July 2, 2018 at VALLEY FUNERAL HOME with Rev. Daniel Breed officiating.
Visitation will be held at the funeral home Monday beginning at 9:30 until the 11:00 AM service. Burial will be at Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, King, with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to Bruce’s church – Emmaus Road PCA or the Salvation Army, both in Appleton, WI.
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