Meet Your Neighbor: Bruce Loftis

Continuing our series of interviews with our Southern Gables neighbors, to help us get to know and appreciate each other.  Interviewed by Bruce McDonald.

Well, Bruce, let’s start off easy. How long have you lived in Southern Gables?  

OK, Bruce, that depends on how you look at it. There are two answers.  My parents moved here in 1968 or so.  I didn’t live here except for one summer when I was in college. Now my parents are gone, but I inherited a house and a few $$$ to fix it up.  Spouse-Linda and I retired and moved from Tennessee (wherever that is) at the end of 2013.

What are a few things that you like the most about the Southern Gables community?  

I enjoy the community activities like the Neighborhood Night Out (not last year – toooo bad – probably not this year) – and the fall Leaf Drop. I have been involved in a number of activities with Green Gables School.  The principal, teachers, and staff all do a great job educating and taking care of the kiddos.

Do you have a favorite memory with your Southern Gables neighbors?

Neighbors on our little block have a block party every year.  (Again, not last year – and again toooo bad. I’m really looking forward to being able to get together socially again.) We have such great neighbors.

What are your hobbies?  

I am involved in a number of volunteer activities – I guess this is a hobby.  The diagnosis has been VD (Volunteer Disorder or Dysfunction.)  Currently, most everything is online.  I am a zoombie.

• • I am involved with CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates.)  Until recently, I was assigned (by Jefferson County Court) to a case with a young boy who was placed in a wonderful supportive foster home in our neighborhood.  My responsibility was not to be a mentor, although I did some of that too.  Rather, since caseworkers can be overwhelmed with too many cases, I spent time with the boy and advocated in court for his best outcome.  CASA is an incredibly valuable organization that can use all manner of support.
  • Steering Committee for the Community Garden at Green Gables Elementary School
  • Board Member for Southern Gables Neighborhood Association.  By the way, we are looking for neighbors to join us in making an even better neighborhood.
  • I do presentations about Scientific Computing and Scientific Visualization at Green Mountain High School, and serve on the Green Mountain STEM Advisory Committee.
  • Spelling Bee judge at Green Gables Elementary School
  • Sierra Club Water Project
  • I like to get involved in campaigns for local elected officials, and
  • I’m on the Organizing Committee for an annual computing conference.

With all that experience and involvement, you must have some good advice and wisdom to pass on to our neighbors. What is your favorite quote or saying? 

Er, uh, one of these.

• • It’s easy to make a small fortune in high performance computing – start with a large one. — That’s by one of my favorite philosophers, Unknown.
  • Time flies like an arrow – fruit flies like a banana.  — Groucho Marx, I think.
  • Eschew obfuscation.
  • Clones are people two.

OK, I think we’d better stop. In closing, is there anything else you want us to know about you?

I have engineering degrees from University of Texas.  Later, at Colorado State University, I attended a few classes and did a little research project.  CSU gave me a PhD and a faculty position – it was very nice of them.

I am now retired, but my career has been at universities with large scientific computers ($50M and larger) – I have been able to play with very expensive toys.  It has been a great career.

Contact [email protected] to nominate a candidate for the “Meet Your Neighbor” series.