Bruce sadly passed away on January 27, 2023

Bruce Stuart Brock
Edwardsville - Bruce Stuart Brock June 23, 1959 – January 27, 2023
In loving memory of Bruce, the family have established The Bruce S. Brock Chemical Engineering Endowed Scholarship, Louisiana Tech University

Bruce Stuart Brock, aged 63, passed away unexpectedly at home in Edwardsville, Illinois on January 27, 2023. Bruce was born on June 23, 1959 in Tuscaloosa Alabama to James Stanley (Stan), and Mae Will (Willie) (nee Bruce) Brock. He was the 3rd of four children and is survived by his sister Elizabeth Brock Kendall of Scotland, and brother Bradley Keith Brock of North Carolina. He will be remembered for his devotion to his family, service to his community, and integrity and meticulous attention to detail in his work, plus his dry sense of humour and love of Corvettes, cats, and impossibly spicy food. The family are grateful for all expressions of condolence and stories about Bruce from his many friends, neighbours and co-workers, and the support of the Edwardsville Emergency Services and Weber & Rodney Funeral Home. Bruce's ashes will be scattered privately in North Carolina and Scotland.

Bruce grew up in Alabama and Louisiana. He graduated in 1977 from Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, after attending Escola Graduada de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Brazil, for several years while his father worked as a Civil Engineer there. Bruce was fascinated by chemistry and got his first chemistry set for his seventh birthday. He went on to study Chemical Engineering on scholarship at Louisiana Tech University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1981. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. After a variety of summer jobs at university, including digging ditches and working as a deckhand on a tugboat, he began a long career in 1982 as a Process Engineer in the refining industry, first working at refineries in Louisiana and Texas, including Kerr McGee/Southwestern, Murphy and Marathon Oil.

In 1994, Bruce joined ConocoPhillips/Phillips 66 at their Ferndale, Washington State refinery, holding a variety of Process Engineering positions. In 2004 he moved to the Wood River refinery in Roxana, Illinois, working as Process Lead on a large expansion project, then shifting to process safety, hazard analysis and environmental compliance. In 2019, he joined Veolia North America as a Senior Project Engineer in Process Safety, later moving to Environmental Solutions and Services. Bruce was a valued team member, and he enjoyed the wide variety of engineering and safety challenges presented by the field of hazardous material processing and management.

Bruce gave generously of his time to his community. Throughout his career, he trained and served on refinery HazMat and Firefighting teams. He volunteered locally as a HazMat Science Officer, Volunteer Firefighter and EMT with the Madison County, Illinois fire department. For many years, he taught night courses as an Adjunct Professor at Lewis and Clark Community College for the Associate Degree Program in Process Operations Technology and was an advisor on the PTEC course committee. In both Whatcom County, Washington State, and the Metro East Area, Illinois, Bruce was a board member and officer for the Humane Society. He enjoyed fantasy football, joining the Gambler Football League with his team Louisiana Roadkill while working at Ferndale, and continued to fly back most years to meet friends for the draft. He had a lifelong love of all types of science fiction and his vast collection of Sci-Fi books have been gifted to the Edwardsville Library.

The Bruce S. Brock Chemical Engineering Endowed Scholarship, Louisiana Tech University
Bruce's parents were determined that their children would receive a college education, and we have chosen to continue that legacy with this endowment, to be first awarded in 2024 to an in-state Freshman in Chemical Engineering selected by the scholarship committee of the Louisiana Tech University College of Engineering and Science. Contributions in Bruce's memory can be made via this secure link shown below, or by contacting the Alumni Center on 318-255-7950, or by check to the Louisiana Tech University Foundation, PO Box 1190, Ruston, LA 71273-1190 (noting Bruce's scholarship and made payable to "Louisiana Tech University Foundation"). Some companies provide matching donations. Donors will receive a tax letter from the university at year end. Online giving link: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/810/rd/interior.aspx?sid=810&gid=1&pgid=340&dids=445

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/goedwardsville/name/bruce-brock-obituary?id=53045772

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/goedwardsville/name/bruce-brock-obituary?id=53045772