******UPDATED SERVICES******

Bruce Katz

GREECE - August 6, 2022. Bruce is predeceased by his father, Leonard Katz. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Marianne (Konopelski) Katz; sons, Joseph (Sophia) Katz, Ph.D., of Redwood City, CA, and Jonathan Katz, D.O. of Middletown, CT; mother, Helene Katz; siblings, Steven (Pam) Katz of Liberty, NY, & Michael (Martha) Katz of East Amherst, NY.

Bruce's life story will be shared during his visitation at the funeral home, 1411 Vintage Lane (Between 390 & Long Pond Rd.) Saturday, August 20, 2022, from 9 AM - 12 PM, his Masonic service will begin at 9 AM. Bruce's funeral service will immediately follow visitation, at 12 PM at the funeral home.

**BRUCE'S FAMILY IS REQUESTING ALL FAMILY AND GUESTS TO WEAR MASKS. **

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to, Seneca Waterways Council Boy Scouts of America, 2320 Brighton-Henrietta TL Road, Rochester, NY 14623, donations.scouting.org/#/council/397/appeal/141 or to Shriners Hospital for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607, lovetotherescue.org/, in his memory.

Remembering the Life of Bruce Katz

Bruce Katz was born on March 3, 1957 in Liberty, NY. He was greeted by his parents Leonard and Helene. Leonard, better known as "Granddaddy," in the Katz family, was a hardworking, self-made man who owned the North End Bar and a furring business across the street from their home in Liberty, NY. Helene managed the finances of these businesses. When Bruce was four, little brother Steve joined the family. Just a year later, Mike came along and completed the trio of brothers. Bruce and his brothers spent years tending bar, furring animals, and riding down to NYC with their father to sell furs in the NYC garment district. Bruce's first job was counting pennies on Sunday morning in the bar while his parents cleaned. Years later, that was just to keep him out of their hair. Bruce grew up around animals, too. As a child, they had an indoor dog, outdoor hunting dogs, a porcupine, and even a skunk.

In his youth, Bruce attended Liberty Elementary School and Liberty High School. He was a member of the marching band, starting with the trombone but, since he was the largest person in the club, he switched to the tuba - even marching with his tuba in the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade. Bruce was also an avid tennis and chess player during his high school days and remembered fondly the time his chess team was visited by a nationally ranked master. He was enthralled by the way the chess master paused and studied the board before making a move. Bruce was an active member of the Liberty ambulance corps in high school. He enjoyed learning about medicine and being a support to those in their most urgent times of need. This passion helped inspire his son, Jon, to begin his path in medicine by joining his college ambulance service years later.

After high school, Bruce continued his education at SUNY School of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) by earning his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. After completing his undergraduate degree, Bruce went on to earn an additional two degrees. First was his Master of Business Administration from RIT, and the second was his Master in Applied Statistics and Quality Control from RIT.

Once he had completed his education, Bruce took up his place in the workforce. He concentrated on paper technology during his time at SUNY ESF, so his job as a copy paper quality control specialist at Xerox was a natural fit. He stayed at Xerox for 37 years and spend much of his career traveling to different global locales including China, Japan, England, Canada, and numerous places in South America and the United States. Bruce moved up through the ranks at Xerox over the years and was proud of holding a patent for "Mechanical fiber paper with controlled curl." He inspired his older son, Joe, who has gone on to become an engineer and world traveler as well.

Bruce and Marianne met in their Theory of Statistics class at RIT. Bruce asked Marianne out on a date in their second class. Their first date was going sailing on Bruce's sunfish on Irondequoit Bay where the wind died, and Bruce needed to paddle them back to shore. He then took Marianne to her first Chinese restaurant, followed by beating her in several games of backgammon. They spent twelve hours together on their first date. A few days later, Marianne told a friend that, if she did not marry Bruce, she would not marry anyone. Bruce was going to be Marianne's guy. Bruce liked to tell the story that Marianne got two A's in their two semesters of Theory of Statistics and he got two B's so "we have the paperwork to prove she is smarter." Marianne refuted that story at every telling. Bruce valued education and knowledge. Marianne had never realized that she needed someone who would make her laugh, but Bruce definitely did, and it brought him great joy when he could make her laugh.

Bruce and Marianne married in Reading, PA in 1986 and then took a honeymoon full of hiking and scuba diving. They bought their home together here in Greece at the time of their marriage and lived together there for nearly 36 years. After they welcomed Joe (1990) and Jon (1992) into the world, they could be found at the Rochester Zoo, a local playground, running around in the backyard or playing in their pool. As the boys got older, Bruce encouraged them to try nearly every sport. He was cheering along at every little league baseball game for Joe, or over playing at the tennis courts with Jon. The family had annual memberships at the zoo, the Science Museum, Discovery Zone, Strong Museum of Play, and the George Eastman House. They were all frequented. They had the opportunity to take many trips together as a family - Disney World and Disney Land when the kids were young. When the boys were in high school, Bruce hiked in the Grand Canyon. They never missed a Thanksgiving back at Grandma's home in Liberty until the Pandemic. In their final year together, the most memorable trip was to beautiful Costa Rica for Joe and Sophia's wedding. It was full of time on the beach, hiking, and an orchid garden which he loved and inspired the floral scene next to Bruce today.

Bruce was active in his community, too. Though he was not a member of the church, he wholeheartedly supported Marianne in raising Joe and Jon in the Catholic faith. He supported all her volunteer efforts at church and, in recent years, even helped as a backup cook a few times on short notice. This spirit of giving back continued with his involvement in the Boy Scouts. Though he started when his sons joined, he stayed long after they finished with the program. He loved training new leaders and always kept up to date going to training himself at the National Boy Scout training center in Philmont, NM, as well as many local courses. He used his vacation time to train leaders over the summer at the Scout camp, Massawepie in the Adirondacks. He held several commissioner roles for the local Boy Scouts Council, including training commission and recruitment commissioner. Every fall there was a sign in his front yard - sign up for Boy Scouts. Bruce would even purchase popcorn from every Scout that asked him.

Bruce was active in the ERAC Lodge 163 of the Free and Accepted Masons, too. He often said that Masons is like Scouts for Men - It helps you develop and maintain skills for living a life of integrity. Bruce loved the principles of Masonry. He was so proud of that affiliation. He was dedicated to studying the Mason rituals and guidance to the point that Bruce helped compile and edit monthly Masonic teaching called "short talk bulletins". They covered years from 1923-2017 and were published in seven volumes. He was very proud of this work and loved learning what was in these documents. He served in leadership of the Lodge for several years serving as Master 2015-2016. Through his involvement in Masonry, Bruce became part of the Shriners. It gave charitable focus to his personal integrity. Being part of fundraisers for Shriners' Hospitals for Children was very important to Bruce. He dedicated many hours to fish fries, raffles and even got to play tuba in a Shriner's Traveling Circus. He drove some local children and family members to Shriner's hospitals in either Massachusetts or Pennsylvania for treatments. Bruce was dedicated to this cause. He also was an associate member of the Board of Governors at Shriners' Hospital in Springfield, MA for three years. His belief in these organizations led him to be on the National Committee of Masonic Scouters, which promotes the ideals and participation of both organizations.

Bruce was a man who valued good long-time friends and did not need many of them. These people helped him through his illness tremendously. Technology helped them keep in touch although physically separated. He valued each and every one of them. Some of these people were grade school & high school friends, some from his college days, and still others from Scouts and Masons. He was blessed by each. Bruce enjoyed playing Words with Friends with long-time friends all the way from New York State to London, England, challenging them each to "up their game". Additionally, for the past 11 years, Bruce's beloved feline friend, his cat, Allie (get it - Allie Katz), had been a comforting companion during difficult days.

In his free time, Bruce enjoyed plenty of hobbies. He tried his hand at cooking (aka chemical experiments), beer making, and brewing kombucha. Besides the tuba, he taught himself the keyboard, tried clarinet, revived his trombone skills, and could get by on a trumpet and other brass instruments. Bruce studied languages, too. He knew enough Chinese to scare the Xerox customers with his understanding so they could not speak in their native tongue behind his back. He was proficient enough in Spanish to hold conversations in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and that certainly helped when we officially added Sophia to our family in 2020. When it came to books, Bruce read non-fiction only. He focused on leadership books and biographies of US figures. He did not want to watch Hamilton until he read the book the show is based on. He also pored over books about technology leaders - Elon Musk, Bill Gates, etc. Bruce waited 17 months for his Tesla, he studied that car long and hard and loved all the technology built-in. He was finally able to enjoy the "blast off" of the zero to 60 MPH speed while bringing it out to see his daughter-in-law, Sophia's, medical school graduation in Ohio and son, Jon's residency graduation in Connecticut early this Summer.

Bruce was well known for his "dad jokes", and, unfortunately for everyone else's sake, he passed that gene on to his sons. Whether it was his bad puns, or texting borderline inappropriate memes to his friends and family, he always hoped to get someone to laugh, or at least get a momentous eye roll. He was known for one "dad joke" most of all, though. Before most fictional movies (i.e., sci-fi, fantasy, cartoon, etc.) he would always slip in the saying "based on a true story" during the opening credits (in the same way it's written in prior to non-fiction movies). That one has become a classic Katz household joke that they expect many more people will have to suffer through for years to come.

As referenced prior, Bruce had an affinity for music. The tuba and sousaphone were Bruce's favorite instruments. For 20 years until the pandemic, he played in at least one TubaChristmas event each year. Some years he traveled around New York state to play in several including the original site - the largest and longest running one at Rockefeller Center in NYC. Aside from the tuba, though, whenever the family started a long car ride, they had to begin their journey with Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again." He also appreciated the sounds of James Taylor, Elton John, and Chicago (especially while he was at work in the kitchen). Bruce also enjoyed watching classic old-time television like Perry Mason and Adam-12 and listening to Radio Classics' "The Shadow" and "Suspense Theatre".

Bruce was so proud of Joe & Jon. In the last brief conversation he had with each son individually, he asked them again about their lives and was so proud of what they had accomplished. When Joe and Jon were young, Bruce had heard that the education of youth was about giving children roots and wings. Bruce understood both. Bruce cared about providing a secure and happy home for his family, which was critical to him as a young husband and father. Later, Bruce encouraged Joe and Jon to pursue their goals and dreams, even when that meant flying away. Alongside his loving life with Marianne, Bruce's sons are his legacy.

Bruce filled his life with a variety of hobbies and passions. However, when he committed to something, he always gave everything he could offer - time, skills, and knowledge. He cared deeply for his wife, mother, and children, and always made sure they knew that. He was a principled man who was a firm believer in right and wrong, supporting friends and family, and stepping up to lead when necessary.