Bruce Pote

Sturbridge- Bruce MacNeil Pote, 65 of Sturbridge passed away on September 29, 2020 in Governador Valadares, Brazil after an illness.

 He is survived by his wife of 16 years Yaskara Campos of Sturbridge, MA; his two sons Arthur L. Pote of Revere, MA, Yuri Miranda of Worcester, MA; His daughter Miranda C. Pote of Erie, CO; His 2 brothers Dr. Douglas A. Pote and his wife Hope of Chilhowie, VA, Jeffrey L. Pote of Tokyo, Japan; His sister Barbara Pote Murphy and her husband Mark of Sturbridge, MA; his 7 Nephews Jeffrey Pote and his wife Michelle of Denver, CO, Michael Pote and his wife Kristen of Durham, NC and their daughters Juniper and Theodora, Austin Pote and his wife Sloane of Apex, NC, Tanner Pote of Marion, VA, Dr. Gregory Pote Murphy and his wife Emily of St. Louis, MO and their children James, Cecilia, and Olivia, Colin York of Montague, MA, Chris York of Montague, MA; His niece Janlyn Pote Murphy of Brighton, MA; 2 aunts Janice Pote Cunningham of Middletown, CT, Marjorie MacNeil of MA; Brother-in-Law Timothy D'Elia of Greenville, SC and his two Sister-in-Laws Polyana Etienne of Melbourne, Australia and their daughter Sophia, Tatiana Campos of Delray, FL  He was  loving son of Lloyd W. Pote and Eileen (MacNeil) Pote, who predeceased him. He especially admired his father.

Bruce grew up in Sturbridge. With his first wife Judith E. D'Elia, also from Sturbridge he had two children (Arthur and Mandy) and lived in Torrance, CA, Wakefield, MA and Buxton, ME before returning to Sturbridge. He and Yaska resided in Sturbridge for many years.

 

He attended Tantasqua High School where he played soccer and basketball.  He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Engineering in 1977. 

 

He worked for Combustion Engineering in Connecticut and TRW in California. During his 24-year tenure at Busek Company of Natick, MA he worked as an aeronautical engineer. Bruce was named on over a dozen patents during his career, and is fondly remembered by colleagues and contemporaries for his larger-than-life personality and immense contribution to the aerospace community. His work has influenced virtually every satellite in orbit today, and will for decades to come.

 

He was passionate about his job, the family camp in Maine, his boat, cooking, and gardening.

 A private memorial service will be held at the Sturbridge Federated Church on Saturday, March 20th at 10:30 a.m. All are welcome to attend the live stream. To view the service live go to BelangerFuneralHome.com and follow the link below the obituary.   Those wishing to honor Bruce’s memory may donate to the C.P. Ciaffone and L.W. Pote Fund at Tufts University. This funds a scholarship for an undergraduate engineering student. Use this link http://go.tufts.edu/PoteScholarship or call Kosta Alexis, Senior Director of Development for the School of Engineering at 617-627-4512     <iframe class="ts_player" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameborder="0" height="330" scrolling="no" src="https://www.tributeslides.com/videos/embedded_video/RS8NKFS6H72L8HZG" width="512"></iframe>