Bruce Vernon Vandegrift, 71, of Philipsburg died Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, surrounded by family after a three-year, courageous fight with an incurable cancer, plasma cell leukemia.
Born June 11, 1943 in Norristown, he was the son of the late Vernon V. and Ruth (Giles) Vandegrift. He married the former Mary Louise Harper on July 15, 1967 in Philipsburg; she survives at home.
He was a member of the Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Philipsburg. He was also a member of the B.P.O. Elks, No. 1173, and the Valley Voices, both of Philipsburg.
He also served in the Army Reserves for six years after graduating high school. He was a member of the National Rifle Association and a former board member of the Moshannon Valley YMCA and a former member of the Philipsburg Rotary Club.
He was an avid hunter and enjoyed almost anytime he could spend in the woods.
Upon graduating from Penn State, he worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Forest and Water. He came to the Philipsburg area and from 1971 until 1990 he was a partner with his brother-in-law, Dan Harper, in the operation of Belding and Mull of Philipsburg.
From 1990 until his death, he was employed with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. He was a 1961 graduate of the Conshohocken High School and a 1963 graduate of Penn State with a degree in forestry.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Vandegrift is survived by a daughter, Dr. Tara Vandegrift and her husband, Christopher Evans of Mount Pleasant, SC and a son, Dr. Vandegrift of State College.
The funeral mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Philipsburg, with the Rev. Robert J. Kelly as celebrant. Burial will be at Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery in Philipsburg.
The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the church on Saturday.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Beezer-Heath Funeral Home, Philipsburg.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hope Lodge of Central Pennsylvania, 125 Lucy Ave., Hummelstown, PA 17036 or to the Pennsylvania Forest Fire Museum Association
6151 Route 209, Stroudsburg, PA 18360-4171.
Friends may sign the guestbook at beezerheathfh.com.