Bruce R. Detmers, age 94 of Wallingford, passed away Jan. 28, 2024. Born in Detroit MI on July 16, 1929 he was a son of the late Cornelius (CJ) & Esther (Dahlberg) Detmers. A resident of Hamden from 1961 to 2019 he was the husband of Betty J. (Garbe) Detmers. Bruce is also survived by his daughter Holly Berlepsch of Northford; his sons Bruce Detmers Jr, & his wife Beth of Woodbridge and Kirby Detmers & his wife Karen of Easthampton, MA; his grandchildren Brian & Eric Berlepsch, Mollie Detmers, Jack Romano & his wife Kate, Jesse, Carly & Jordan Detmers and his great grandson James Romano. Bruce was predeceased by his brother Larry Detmers and son in-law, Brian Berlepsch.

When Bruce was a child, he had fond memories driving with his father, CJ, who was a sales representative for Madison Electric Company.  They would deliver candy, cigars and liquor to CJ's customers in the Detroit area during the holidays. He would speak quite often of the times spent with his parents, brother Larry and scotty dog, Fritzy Popeye, at their cabin on Big Fish Lake in Ortonville, MI.

Bruce graduated from Warren Michigan High School in 1948 where he met his wife of 71 years, Betty. In 1952 he graduated from Lawrence Institute of Technology, married Betty and was enlisted in the US Army. Bruce was a Sargent in the US Army from 1952-54.  His branch of service was in the Corps of Engineers, Research and Development Laboratory in Fort Belvoir Virginia. During the time in service, he had the privilege of meeting one of his architectural idols, Frank Lloyd Wright, on two separate occasions.

Bruce was an architect employed for many years by Roche-Dinkeloo & Associates and Eero Saarinen & Associates. He was very proud of the many projects he worked on throughout his career. These projects included the Gateway Arch in St Louis, MO, the Knights of Columbus Headquarters in New Haven, CT, One and Two United Nations Plaza (United Nations Development Corporation) in New York City, UNICEF Global Headquarters in New York City and different wings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York including the American Wing and the Temple of Dendur.

He was a very active member of the Dunbar United Church in Hamden acting on the Board of Trustees, the Investment Committee and the Endowment Fund.

A Memorial Service will be held for Bruce on Saturday, May 18th at Dunbar United Church of Christ at 2:00 p.m., followed by Interment with Military Honors in the church's Memorial Garden. A contribution in his memory may be made to Doctors without Borders, the Dunbar United Scholarship Fund at 767 Benham St., Hamden, CT 06514, or a charity of your choice.