It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of Bruce "Bramela" Stephenson, who succumbed to his illnesses in hospital last week. After being diagnosed with cancer in November, Bruce responded well to treatment and remained in good spirits together with his wife Pam and his family. Many of you may have seen him posting quite actively on the forum earlier this year, as he was starting to feel better up until his final days.
Bruce joined Pentax Forums in January, 2007, just 4 months after I launched the site. Since then, he had been a valuable contributor and a friend of many forum members. He became a part of our moderation team in March, 2010, and he was a tremendous help to our staff during his tenure. Bruce has always been kind and very cheerful. Photography was his passion; in addition to posting hundreds of photos throughout his time here, he participated in and led photo challenges such as "Single in Month". This very last upload here on the forum was "Old Age", a submission to our February "Trees" photo contest:
Stop by his forum profile to see more of his photography:
Bramela - View Profile - PentaxForums.com
Bruce will forever be remembered here on the forum. His name will live on in many ways on the site: I plan to host a special photo challenge in his memory, and you may also see some his family members who have recently taken up photography. Back in November, we also wrote a tribute to Bruce on the PF homepage:
Thank you, Bruce Stephenson! - PentaxForums News- Pentax Camera Forums
On Tuesday, Rod
"OzzRod" delivered flowers and a card on behalf of all his friends on the forum to Bruce's wife in Australia. Rod adds:
"When I joined the Forum in 2011, I soon noticed Bramela’s avatar popping up in so many threads. It was through the Single in Month Challenges that our virtual friendship developed, as we both noticed each other’s posts of familiar Newcastle landscapes and landmarks, sometimes racing to identify each other’s sites. It turned out that we lived less than a kilometre apart. Bruce’s special love was flowers, not only as a photographer, but also as an enthusiastic home gardener and a regular volunteer at the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens. This prompted donation of a Bromilliad from my garden to his, an “excuse” to meet him, but he wasn’t home when I called. A couple of months later he posted a picture of that bromilliad in flower, acknowledging its source, and so our on-line link continued to flourish, augmented by occasional phone exchanges.
Ironically our first face-to-face meeting occurred only late last year, when he was first being treated for cancer. Bruce’s sincerity, sense of purpose and quiet determination were immediately apparent as he sought to confront and overcome the initially blunt and bleak prognosis. And what a treat to witness first hand the comfort and delight that he and his family experienced from the worldwide deluge of posts in the Flowers for Bruce thread. That support certainly strengthened his resolve and so many were in turn thrilled to see him start posting again this year. Alas, it wasn’t to last, but what a fight he put up. I for one feel privileged to have known Bruce, but oh to have had more time. Rest easy Mate."
I will devote the rest of this thread to personal comments from other forum members who knew Bruce and would like to pay their last respects. May he rest in peace.
Adam
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