Bruce Manning Reeves

PITTSTON – Bruce was the tenth child of 11 born to Minna and Charles Reeves in Providence, R.I., the same year that his mother received her law degree from the Portia law school, now the New England School of Law.

Bruce attended St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Mass. for six years, graduating with honors in l953. While at St Marks he served as editor of the school newspaper, “The St. Marker”. He also played varsity hockey. He maintained a lifelong interest in St. Marks and kept in close touch with several of his classmates, reminiscing about the school and attending reunions.

Bruce graduated from Harvard College in 1957, with a B.A. in English. In college, he enjoyed working for the Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s undergraduate daily newspaper.

Soon after graduation, Bruce met John F. Kennedy, who was running for president. He was so impressed by Kennedy that after the election, Bruce moved to Washington, D.C. with his wife and daughter to join the Peace Corps staff. Bruce recruited volunteers for the Peace Corps in the historic black colleges around the South. He became committed to civil rights and served as a C.O.R.E. Marshall at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. After Kennedy was assassinated, Bruce moved with his wife and children to Venezuela, South America, where he served as the Peace Corps staff director.

Bruce and his family returned to the United States and lived in several cities around the country where he worked as a consultant for the Poverty Program, helping to develop and implement programs to assist low income communities and individuals. He and his family lived in Maine, Nevada, and Florida during this time.

In Daytona Beach, Fla., Bruce joined forces with the State and local N.A.A.C.P. and worked aggressively to racially integrate city services, including organizing a highly successful bus boycott, restaurant sit-ins and picketing white only hotels.

After returning to live in Maine with his family in 1970, they settled in Pittston where he raised beef cows, sheep, chickens, geese, and horses and grew organic fruits and vegetable gardens.

When Bruce was elected to the Maine State Senate, he chaired The Maine Joint Select Committee on Jobs and served on the legislative committee that recommended passage of the “Bottle Bill”, which was controversial at the time.

During his time in the State Senate, Bruce intervened on behalf of the ratepayers in several Central Maine Power Company electricity rate cases where he earned a reputation as a Public Utility “Watchdog” and advocate for ratepayers. Also, Bruce initiated several petition drives including the successful drive against Local Measured Telephone Service in which Bruce brought Ralph Nader to Maine to campaign against the telephone funding scheme.

After leaving politics, Bruce worked as a consultant and grant writer for many years for the Portland West Neighborhood Planning Council in Portland, and also as a consultant and grant writer for several other states around the country including the George Gervin Youth Center in San Antonio. Texas where he helped George Gervin’s sister, Barbara Hawkins expand her agency.

He and his wife Polly traveled in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, often with their oldest granddaughter, Elliott Reeves Eliopoulos. Bruce and Polly and the children had always loved beaches since they discovered Sanibel Island while working in Florida in the 1960s. Bruce loved the beach where he could fish, collect shells, and watch birds. Among Bruce’s many talents were making fresh pizza and apple and wild Maine blueberry pies from scratch. He also made beautiful shell mirrors with the shells he collected and family travel scrapbooks for each of his grandchildren.

After becoming a grandfather, Bruce enjoyed helping care for his grandchildren. Bruce always was a family man and became more so as he got older. He loved family parties with all of his kids and grandkids around him.

Bruce is survived by his wife Polly; his two children, Phoebe and Charlie; and his three grandchildren, Elliott, Nicholas, and Tessa.

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