Wm. Bruce King, 83, of Elkhorn, passed away March 11, 2024, at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center.
He was born June 3, 1940, in Chicago, the son of the late William and Evelyn (Horak) King.
Is there anything as sweet as a teen romance? Only a teen romance that lasts. Esther and Bruce met at Palatine High School around 1955. Bruce was united in marriage to Esther M. Sporleder on June 6, 1959, at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Schaumburg, Illinois. He loved her until the day she died in 2014, after 53 years of marriage and 57 years together. Together Forever is carved in stone for them.
Bruce loved baseball. He lettered in baseball, football and ran track for Palatine High School. As a kid growing up in Chicago, he rooted for the Yankees, mostly because of his love for Mickey Mantle. Later in his life, he became a baseball coach for the Ethan Allen School for Boys in Wales. Bruce loved to take his kids and grandkids to many Milwaukee Brewer games with gourmet tailgate lunches prepared by his wife.
Bruce taught at Elkhorn High School and the Ethan Allen School for Boys. He was verbally gifted and was a perfect mix with his good nature and sense of humor. That made the complexities of science a little more palatable to high school students. He was proud of all the kids he worked with and proud of his career as a teacher.
He enjoyed his Canadian Whiskey. His second job was as a bartender at Luebke’s, Sterlingworth and Crossroads. He bought King’s Tavern in Elkhorn and used his gifts of gregariousness, humor, and teaching with his new business.
He loved trap shooting and was a lifelong member of the NRA, the Delavan Sportsman’s Club and the Triangle Shooting Club. He taught his sons and grandsons to shoot well enough that his son scored expert in Army Basic Training.
Bruce became a champion trap shooter, and his basement is filled with his trophies. He enjoyed tractors and restored a 1946 Model B John Deere and model 70 John Deere. Bruce had a 1977 Corvette that he enjoyed going cruising in.
Bruce loved the country life and the beauty of nature. He loved his places on Hazel Ridge Road and Sporleder Road. Bruce had trained the Sand Hill Cranes to visit his deck and peck on the patio window for a treat. He often commented on the beauty of the snowscape along Hazel Ridge and Amos Roads. He had no use for art, painting or literature, commenting that he had never read a book for pleasure in his life. He preferred the real beauty of nature instead of replicas.
Bruce is survived by his three children, Lloyd (Carie) King, Annette (Jon Hummel) King-Hummel, Julie (Mark) Gruebel; nine grandchildren, Carson, Austin, Grace (Sean), Jackson, and Charlotte King, Dylan and Olivia Gruebel, and Maxwell (Leah) and Gus Hummel; two great-grandchildren, Lachlan and Malachi and his sister, Patricia Hughes.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his loving wife of 54 years, Esther, and brother-in-law, Jack Hughes.
Funeral services were held on Friday, March 15, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 416 W. Geneva St., Delavan, with the Rev. Jonah P. Burakowski officiating. Interment is at Roselawn Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the National Rifle Association or the Delavan Sportsman Club. Online guest book at www.haaselockwoodfhs.com.
