R. Bruce Macmurdo
Remarks of Mitchell E. Garner, Yale ’71
R. Bruce Macmurdo Memorial Service
Yale Club of New York
Saturday, May 26, 2007
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Mitch Garner, one of Bruce “Boat” Macmurdo’s Yale classmates. On behalf of the Class of ’71, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to Boat’s family — his wife Sandy, his daughter Josie, his sons Scott and Mark, his sister Alice Macmurdo Leblanc, his brother Carl, and his mother Genevieve — on their loss.
As I stand before you today, I am proud to count myself among Boat’s friends. All of us gathered here today feel great sadness at Boat’s sudden passing in January. Today, however, is a day to celebrate Boat’s life rather than to mourn his death. It is not easy to fully capture Boat’s life in a few words. How do you put your arms around a mountain?
I knew Boat when I was a Yale undergraduate. Boat’s many achievements during his 57 years on earth have been well chronicled. My focus today will be on Boat as a person. Other speakers today will tell stories about Boat during his undergraduate days. I came to know Bruce more post-Yale, as our paths crossed at various Yale alumni and Class of ’71 events. We became good friends, and our friendship grew closer as the years passed. In May 2005, I ran in a roadrace in New Orleans, and I got together with Bruce and his wife Sandy for a leisurely Sunday brunch following the race. It was my first time visiting New Orleans, and I came to appreciate the joie de vivre embodied in the spirit of the people of Louisiana and in Boat’s personality. Boat epitomized the French expression spoken widely in the French Quarter in New Orleans, “Laissez les bons temps rouler.” That is, “Let the good times roll.”
Boat was also a great college sports fan and a fervent supporter of both Yale and LSU athletics. As some of you may know, I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the Michigan Wolverines. Ann Arbor, like Baton Rouge, where Bruce lived, is a university town where college sports are king. Some years ago, Boat and I talked about his coming to Ann Arbor to see a Michigan college football game at Michigan Stadium, called the “Big House” because it is the largest football stadium in the United States. Last fall, talk became reality. Bruce came to Ann Arbor with another attorney from his law firm, Connie Aucoin, and Connie’s husband Rusty, who are with us today.
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As we approach the first anniversary of Boat’s passing, in the glow of LSU’s National Championship, I’m still finding the loss palpable. Living in New Haven again (as of August, ’07) and working in the shadow of Morse College (literally), there’s not a day that passes that some memory of Bruce doesn’t fly by in some form or another. I can’t say “I wish I had told him this or that,” or “I wish we had done . . .” I only wish we had more time. Approaching the backstretch run, I think Bruce’s passing only makes me want to make sure I stay in touch with all those who have lasted as such good friends over these years — and hope to see as many as possible whenever we can.
Bil “Snake” Johnson
Those of us who knew “Boat” had richer lives because of his influence. He gave much to his friends and to numerous individuals in his state and community. No other classmate did more to get us together at our reunions. I miss him dearly as do so many others.