Bruce A. Willardson

Bruce Anthony Willardson, 63, died July 19, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona while traveling back from a business meeting. He was born in Los Angeles, CA, on June 26, 1953. Bruce is survived by his wife, Stacey, son Chase and his wife Shannon and their son Jack and daughter Charlotte, son Taylor and his wife Katy and their daughter Stella, and son Cole. Bruce is the son of LaDrue and Winifred Willardson and is also survived by his three brothers Jeff, Robert, and Tom and sister Karen. Bruce grew up in Encino, CA and graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, CA where he began his career in art and design as the cartoonist for the high school newspaper. Following high school, Bruce attended Pierce Junior College from 1971-1972, taking classes in art and general education. Bruce then transferred to Brigham Young University in 1972 and graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in graphic design/packaging and minoring in illustration. After graduating from Brigham Young University, Bruce enrolled at Art Center College of Design and graduated with a second Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in graphic design/packaging, and minoring in illustration. He earned a full scholarship and graduated with honors from Art Center. After graduating from Art Center, Bruce started his design and packaging career with Landor and Associates located in San Francisco, CA. Bruce distinguished himself as a talented designer at Landor and worked on creating designs, logos, and identity makeovers for world-class companies such as General Electric, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Red Lobster, Colgate, Starkist, and Clorox. Bruce had many successful years at the design firms of Addison and SBG before joining Clorox 14 years ago, where he built a very talented, creative, and successful team overseeing the identity, design, and packaging of Cloroxs many consumer products. Bruces life outside the workplace was primarily focused on family and church service. Bruce and Stacey were married in the Oakland Temple on May 7, 1983. Shortly after their first son Chase was born, they moved from a small townhouse in Walnut Creek, CA to the house they have lived in to this day in Concord, CA. Sons Taylor and Cole followed and Bruce and Stacey were devoted parents, intimately involved in all their sons activities including volleyball, soccer, watersports, church activities, and snowboarding. All three boys earned their Eagle Scout badges, which is rare these days. Bruces son Chase and his wife Shannon have two children, son Jack, and daughter, Charlotte. Bruces son Taylor and his wife Katy are recent parents of a daughter, Stella. Bruce was a very proud grandpa and loved doting on his three grandchildren. His son Cole is single and attending Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Bruce has dedicated countless hours to serving others in various church callings as a very active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was active in the church choir, the Boy Scouts of America, and served in a host of leadership positions working with the youth. In addition to being a talented designer, illustrator, and artist, Bruce was an accomplished guitarist and mandolin player. During his college days in the early 70s, he played guitar and mandolin in a folk-rock band with his brother Tom and Toms wife, Valerie. His musical roots ran deep and he maintained an eclectic record collection that reflected his broad tastes in all types of music. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, July 30 at the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel, located at 1360 Alberta Way Concord, CA. There will be a viewing from 12:00 PM until approximately 12:45 PM prior to the funeral services at 1:00 PM. Following the funeral services, there will be an internment at the Oakmont Memorial Park, located at 2099 Reliez Valley Road, Lafayette, CA. Visitation Saturday, July 30, 2016 12:00 pm-12:45 pm Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1360 Alberta Way Concord CA 94521 Funeral Service Saturday, July 30, 2016 01:00 pm Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1360 Alberta Way Concord CA 94521