Bruce Robert Blank, 72, a long time Austin, Minnesota, resident, died on Nov. 30, 2018, after a valiant battle against lymphoma.

Bruce was born March 11, 1946, in Superior, Wisconsin, the fifth of six children of Victor W. Blank and Elizabeth M. (Ferfon) Blank. He grew up on Clough Avenue and attended a brand-new Blaine grade school through sixth grade, then Junior High at Ericcson and the next to the last class at Superior Central High School, graduating in 1964. Bruce was always proud to call Superior home, mostly because of the sports programs the city had. He was able to play for the Yankees in the first year of Little League Baseball in a nice stadium because of the hard work of the organizers and donors. The skating rink hockey leagues were always well run and there were sponsors, such as Larson Chevrolet, for the traveling teams.

Bruce lived a full and pretty good life; kids and sports were always a big part were always a very important part of it. He always said the first 20 years of his life were in Superior and the next 20 were in Austin, playing on teams in both of these towns in softball and some hockey as well as coaching hockey in the youth leagues in Austin.  During his playing days, he played with some of the best fast pitch teams in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In 2014, he was enshrined in the Minnesota Fast Pitch Hall of Fame.

He moved to Austin in 1968 and started working at the Hormel Company, where he continued to work until 1987, when a labor dispute shut the plant down. He and his wife, Joyce, ran The Pub tavern for a while and decided it was time to move on. They moved to the Lodi, California, area and Bruce went to work for his brother, Gerry, in his plumbing shop. He worked there for 14 years, but had health issues and moved to Arizona, where he worked for Target as a store building services man for eight years. He was able to retire in 2010.

Bruce was preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Betty; brother, Ronald of Spokane, Washington; and son, Peter of Austin.

Bruce is survived by his wife of nearly 48 years, Joyce; his six children, Lisa (Dave) Weiler of Lakeville, Minnesota, Craig (Sheryl) Johnson, of Superior, Wendy (Arlen) Hilden of Proctor, Minnesota, Scott (Sarah) Weiss of Rochester, Minnesota, and Jeff (Denise) Blank of Phoenix, Arizona; his grandchildren, Branden, Aaron, Alysha, Cody, Seth, Austin, Jacob and Alexis; and his siblings, Richard, Nancy, Gerry and Linda.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018, at the New Song United Methodist Church, 16303 W. Bell Road, Surprise, AZ 85374. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Cancer Association or the Mayo Clinic.