Bruce Paquette 

1942-2023

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Cady Cremation Services & Funeral Home on Feb. 6, 2024.

Bruce Allan was born on July 19, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan to Rose and Cyril Paquette. Bruce was their third son. He spent his early years in Grosse Pointe Park, going to Maire Elementary school, Pierce Junior High and Grosse Pointe High South. He graduated from high school in 1960. After high school, Bruce attended the University of Detroit, College of Engineering and earned a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering degree in 1966.

Months prior to graduating from the University of Detroit, he was hired by Boeing Company as a computer implementation specialist. He moved to Seattle where he finished his college courses. At Boeing, he worked on military projects rather than on commercial airplane projects. Not long after joining Boeing, he was assigned to work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. When his assignment at JPL was concluded he moved back to Seattle before being transferred to Virginia to work with programs under the umbrella of the military and the Pentagon. He retired from Boeing in 1999 after 33 years of employment. While living in Virginia, Bruce developed a fascination with fire equipment and was active in the Friendship Fire Association, Washington. He took countless pictures of fire vehicles and helped edit their newsletter.
Through friends Bruce met Mary "Beth" Hoffman while in Virginia. They married on April 19, 1986 in Washington, D.C. Their son Daniel was born on October 4, 1987 at Georgetown University Hospital. After a number of military contracts dried up, Boeing transferred Bruce back to Seattle in May 1989.

Once back in that state of Washington, Bruce and Beth settled in Tukwila where they remained for 30 years. For 10 years, Bruce volunteered in Mrs. Parrish's 2nd grade classroom at Tukwila Elementary School helping kids with their reading. They moved to Kent, WA in 2019. Unfortunately within the past 10 years Bruce encountered a number of serious illnesses including tongue cancer in 2014, heart valve replacement, COVID-19 in 2020 and finally jaw cancer in 2022.

Bruce passed away on January 10, 2024 just 11 months after Beth, his wife of nearly 38 years passed away on Feb. 23, 2023. A funeral mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church located in Burien, WA will be held on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024 at 11 a.m. followed by a reception. Interment will be at the West Berlin Township cemetery in St. Clair County, Michigan at a date to be determined.
Bruce is survived by his son, Daniel Cyril Paquette, sister, Barbara Pitney, brother-in-law, Tom Hoffman and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Bruce is preceded in death by his wife Beth, his parents, Rose and Cyril Paquette, brothers, Albert and Donald Paquette and their spouses.

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