116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Bruce Lee Conwell
Bruce Lee Conwell
Hale
Bruce Lee Conwell, 84, of Hale, passed away on July 5, 2022, at his home.
His memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, July 11, at St. John Lutheran Church in Olin. A visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday at St. John Lutheran Church. Burial will be at Olin Cemetery with military honors. Dawson Funeral Services of Olin is caring for his family.
Bruce was born on Feb. 13, 1938, in Wyoming, Iowa, to J.L. and Helen (Bennen) Conwell. He graduated from Olin High School in 1956. On June 27, 1958, he was united in marriage to the love of his life, Bonnie Wigger, at St. John Lutheran Church in Olin. After marriage, he enlisted in the U.S. Army serving from 1959-1963 in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. After being honorably discharged, Bruce drove a rock truck for some time including delivering rock to the Coralville dam. He worked for Polo Plastics as an assistant plant manager for 34 years in Monticello until retirement. Bruce was a member of the American Legion Blayney Miner Ahrendsen Post 412 of Olin and a former member of Little Bear Country Club in Wyoming. He was also a longtime member of St. John Lutheran Church in Olin. Bruce and Bonnie loved visiting casinos. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, mushroom hunting and golfing. For many years, they would take annual fishing trips to Lake Kabetogama in Minnesota.
Those left to cherish his memory are his son, Chad (Candy Sheldon) Conwell of Hale; Chad’s stepdaughters, Desirae Martinez, Monica Wilmoth and Amanda (Willy) Phelps; a sister, Laverna Hanson of Cedar Rapids; a former daughter-in-law, Carolyn Hayes; sister-in-law, Melody (John) Reck; and nieces and nephews, Greg (Susan), Julie (Randy), Danny (Chris), Jennifer (Mike), Laura (Adam) and Brady (Ashley).
He was preceded in death by his wife; parents; stepfather, Pete Petersen; brothers-in-law, James Glenn and Dick Hanson; a nephew, Tim Glenn; and a niece, Olivia Deutmeyer.
Bruce’s family would like to give a special thank-you to Meghan and Lindsay from Above and Beyond for taking such great care of him. Memorials may be directed to his family in his honor.
Daily Newsletters