Bruce Hatch

Once upon a time, in land a little farther south, Bruce Burright Hatch was born to a traveling salesman who was guilty of eloping with the sweetest young lady he could swindle out of her maidenhood. The youngest of their six children, Bruce was born on October 25, 1925 on their farm near St. Charles, Illinois. One of his first memories was when Charles Lindberg flew across the ocean in May 1927, and his love of flight was born. Bruce had a special relationship with each of his siblings, and they all were very close to their baby brother. He had a close attachment to his mother who was a very special, gentle soul. He left high school early to help his father and brother tend the farm when the rest of his brothers were called to serve their country in WWII and Bruce was too young to serve. During this time, he spent much time with his favorite (only) niece, Sheila riding the wide wooded plains of the family farm on a noble steed. Upon the miraculous and safe return of each of his brothers, Bruce took his turn serving in the US Navy from 1952 to 1956 during the Korean war. He served on the naval aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ticonderoga where he worked on the crash crew and simultaneously earned his diploma. He was full of animated stories about crashes in which a fighter plane missed the catch lines and toppled over the end of the ship or burst into flames and they narrowly rescued the pilot. He saved like a true Scotch/Irishman and upon his honorable discharge, he purchased his first new tractor - a Case 930. Upon his return from service, in addition to farming, he worked as an aircraft mechanic at DuPage County airport where his love for flying produced a rewarding masterpiece. He brought home a plane in pieces on a trailer that had been wrecked and rebuilt it. He used it to fly between his farming operations in Minnesota and Illinois. The family dog, Friday, knew his plane and would head to the neighbor's landing strip to greet him. Another practice was to buzz his parents house to let them know he was back. His mother's precautionary advice: "Fly low and slow." While Bruce was busy farming in two states, he also custom combined and had many fond memories of working the harvest seasons. During his travels, he met his workaholic match in a woman equally as special as his mother - Vernelle Grace Jensen. Shortly after their first date to the Minnesota State Fair, Bruce's romantic proposal (during the rainy spring season) to this sweet lady was, "Well, I can't be in the field - wanna get married?" (What's Frank Sinatra got on him?!) They permanently moved to the farm near Lake Crystal where they had five cute little kids Heidi, Ted, Patti, Karl, and Bonnie who had a blast learning how to farm, raise critters and plants, kill chickens with dynamite debris, noodle fish in a spring-flooded field, ice fish with a chainsaw, learn to swim in a backyard pond, ride steers, and how to make a Hatchmobile. (It's unknown how many miles were logged on the first two, but the family traveled over 300,000 miles with the 3rd and final Hatchmobile while touring the Disneys, Sea Worlds, mountains, badlands, and beaches of America.) Bruce didn't take well to retirement and it took three attempts to make it stick - even then, he wasn't pleased about the final farming retirement which occurred in his mid 70's and often made comments such as, "I should just go out there and do that myself. He should've been out there last week!" Bruce was preceded in his journey to Heaven by his beloved mother, Hazel Ansley Quackenbush, father, Wally Hatch, parents-in-law Vernon Viola Thulien Jensen his Evel-Knievel son Karl, brothers and their spouses, Ansley and Kay, Warner, Jack and Beverly, and Gordon, brothers-in-law Ken and Terry, sisters-in-law Elaine and Lois, nephews Warren, Dan, George, Peter, Derek, and Jamie. Bruce is survived by his favorite sister, Ruth, his amazingly patient, kind, and doting wife, Vernelle, their semi-adult children and spouses - Heidi Gene, Ted Jenalle, Patti, and Bonnie Jason, grandkids - Ted's daughter Brittni, Karl's daughter Gabrial, Heidi's sons Sam and John, great grandkids, (Brittni's) Peyton, Kylur, and Cameryn, and many wonderful cousins, nieces, and nephews. First Visitation 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm Thursday, April 30, 2015 Sturm Funeral Home, Pilgrim Chapel 303 E. Main St. Madelia, Minnesota, United States 56062 Second Visitation 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Friday, May 1, 2015 Sturm Funeral Home, Pilgrim Chapel 303 E. Main St. Madelia, Minnesota, United States 56062 Service Information 2:00 pm Friday, May 1, 2015 Rosendale Lutheran Cemetery Rosendale Twp Madelia, Minnesota, United States Interment Information Rosendale Lutheran Cemetery Rosendale Twp Madelia, Minnesota, United States