Bruce Amsbary

Harlow Bruce Amsbary passed into his final adventure during the week of July 1, 2023, or as he was fond of saying “crossed over the rainbow bridge.” Bruce was born in Champaign, Illinois in
1957, as the third child of Frank Clifford Amsbary III and Mina Amsbary (Coy).

He is survived by his immediate family – brother Stephan Harlow Amsbary and wife Christine Amsbary (Marion, NC), sister Robin Amsbary (Louisville, KY), sister Beth Amsbary and husband James Nichols (Seattle, WA) – as well as his chosen family of Carol Pearson (Champaign, IL), Sue Westerfeld (Nampa, ID), Joshua Ryan (Indianapolis, IN), his beloved Malamute Budzo, and hundreds of friends across the world.

Bruce held strong opinions and acted on them. While attending Central High School in Champaign during the 1970’s, he and a group of friends were frustrated with the lack of all-ages venues for the live music that was pouring out of local clubs. They formed Rock Ventures, a group that produced all-ages rock shows including Hound Dog Taylor and Funkadelic. One of their favorite events was a ground-breaking, day-long live rock festival on Cannonball Hill in Crystal Lake Park. The 16 year-old organizers were proud to leave the grounds spotless when the night was over. Bruce ran for Student Council President as an alternative candidate and was as surprised as everyone else when he actually won.  He graduated from Central High in 1974. Bruce attended Illinois State University studying psychology, taking a semester at University of Oregon in Eugene.

He fell in love with the mountains and forests of the Pacific Northwest. He soon moved to the coast, finishing his degree there and embarking on a lifetime of care for wild places. Bruce worked in many parts of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management across eight states. He fought fires, worked lookouts, staffed dispatch, and finally reached the kind of position he’d hoped for – welcoming and connecting visitors to the natural world – on the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois.

Bruce was especially honored to collaborate closely with the Oglala Lakota Nation in better coordinating federal firefighting with indigenous agencies. The friendships and understanding he gained here formed core values for him.

As a gay man who lived in rural areas, Bruce became an activist for gay rights. In Bend, Oregon he founded Beyond the Closet (BTC), a public awareness nonprofit that recognized the intersectionality of prejudice across race, nationality, and orientation. With BTC Bruce brought in speakers and cultural experiences to broaden the perspective of Central Oregon residents.

Bruce would say that showing the film Priscilla,Queen of the Desert was a “fabulous” way to open minds and hearts. Before it was common, he brought gay public figures to schools and
churches on speaker tours to open conversations about gay marriage and the community cost of anti-gay policies. In recognition of this work, Bruce was named Grand Marshall of the
Portland Pride Parade in 1995.

Bruce maintained a wide network of friends from all walks of life. His dedication to sending postcards from odd corners of the U.S., as well as Smokey Bear paraphernalia, was legendary. He could drive across the country spending every night with a friend if he wasn’t camping in a new location he wanted to explore. For his final ten years, his companion in these adventures was always a Malamute, first Buck then Budzo. Bruce faced mental health challenges that complicated his life, often coming through them due to the heroic dedication of his community.

A Celebration of Bruce’s life will be scheduled in the future.

If you would like to make a gift in honor of Bruce’s life, the family invites you to support his
passion for a more just world by making a gift in his name to one of the causes he probably
harangued you about:

An alternative radio station
LGBTQ rights
Environmental protection
Your local indigenous tribe
Or make a gift to the Indian Creek Kennels, who adopted his beloved Bud,
5578 Giant City Rd, Carbondale, IL 62902

Final Arrangements were entrusted to Southern Cremation and Burial Services, LLC.