Bruce Iiams

Aug 21, 1956 -

Aug 8, 2026

Bruce Iiams died in Minneapolis, Minn., on Aug. 8, 2026, after many years in Anchorage, Alaska, and many sojourns in Manila.

Bruce was born on Aug. 21, 1956, in Beaumont, Texas, son of Eugene S. Iiams Jr. and Ruth Iiams. He leaves his wife of 43 years, Aurora Iiams of Manila; son, Ben Iiams and wife Farzaneh of San Francisco, Calif.; daughter, Vanessa Iiams Nelson and husband Pat of Bloomington, Minn., and grandsons Graham and Drew Nelson; and daughter, Marlea Iiams of Manila. Family made his extra year possible with their diligent support.

Bruce escaped high school early and graduated from Rice University with bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering, which he used to tackle special problems others thought hopeless—from company projects to his wife's cancer.

An experimenter to the end, he fought and bought time against his highly fatal form of leukemia, bending the curve.

A memorial will be held on Friday, August 21, 2026, at Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, Calif.