My friend Bruce Charles Heikkinen died quietly in November. He was 71.
A year ago, Bruce asked me to write the story of his life.
“My health concerns may be serious enough that my time may be limited,” he told me.
Bruce had ALS.
I suspect Bruce chose me because I’d interviewed him for my high school paper in 1975 — a feature story about a rock ‘n’ roll DJ after which I knew I could make a go of it in journalism — and again here in 2009. We’d stayed in touch.
Bruce fed me vignettes as he thought of them. I wrote it up and sent it off to him at the end of the summer. I got a brief note of thanks, and then nothing more.
From time to time, I wondered whether anything was up, and then in December, I received an email from his hometown of Brantwood, a wide spot in the road in north-central Wisconsin. A woman who publishes the local heritage center’s newsletter told me Bruce had died. She was seeking permission to share things I’ve written about Bruce with her readers. Sure, of course.
There was neither an obit nor a service for Bruce, per his wishes, so the three blog posts I wrote about him 16 years ago will have to suffice.
And so our story begins: In February 1975, Bruce Charles was the morning DJ at WIFC, the FM rock station in Wausau, Wisconsin, the one almost everyone listened to.
And so our story continues: Bruce was young and had a blast while working at WIFC.
And so our story concludes: Bruce eventually went off to college and wound up in the Seattle area, where he lived a good life for the rest of his life.
What did Bruce Charles and WIFC sound like back then? Here’s a 9-minute aircheck from the early ’70s.
Bruce and I hung out together just that once, on a cold morning almost 50 years ago now. We never met again beyond phone calls and emails. Hope he smiled when he read — or was read — that story of his life.
Readers’ note: This originally was to be included in this year’s Gone in Threes blog post, but that’s already WAY TOO LONG.