Bruce DeWitt Garfield

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved brother, uncle, great uncle and friend, Bruce DeWitt Garfield, on May 22, 2026.

Born on February 10, 1961, in Los Angeles, California, Bruce became the sixth of what would eventually become a family of seven children. Born to loving, hard-working and devoted parents, Elwin Burris and Genevieve Smith Garfield, Bruce grew up in a very lively, active and faith-oriented household. Devotion to faith and to family were fundamental principles which made up the environment where Bruce’s character was forged. Bruce was an extraordinarily sensitive and kind-hearted child. His gentle spirit at times belied other characteristics which in future years became apparent. – a keen intellect, and tremendous resolve. He also grew up with a basketball court in the backyard and the beach a few miles to the west. With three older brothers heavily involved in either basketball or surfing, Bruce developed a lifelong love of sports, particularly basketball, and a reverence for the ocean.

When Bruce was eleven years old, the family moved from La Mirada, California, to St. George, Utah. It was a difficult adjustment to a radically different environment, but Utah eventually became his true home. Utah was ultimately a place of fascination for Bruce. The magical beauty of colorful sandstone cliffs and red rock deserts, along with rugged mountain ranges were a draw that fed his innate need to explore and understand the world around him. One never got into a car with Bruce without crawling over various maps and the latest edition of the Road Atlas.

After graduating from Dixie High School in 1979, Bruce spent a year at Dixie State College before choosing to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. At age nineteen, he was called to serve in the New York, Rochester Mission, where he served faithfully. During this period, Bruce faced one of the most difficult decisions he would ever have to make. In September of 1981, Bruce received word that his beloved father had passed away unexpectedly. With eight months remaining of his two-year tenure, it was left up to Bruce whether or not he would stay in New York and serve out his mission or return home to his now widowed and grieving mother and family. Out of respect for what he felt would have been his father’s wishes, Bruce chose to complete his mission.

Following his mission, Bruce re-entered college, choosing to attend Brigham Young University (BYU). While there, he earned a Master of Accounting degree and became a CPA. What BYU earned in this process was a lifelong fan of all things pertaining to BYU, all their sports, particularly basketball and football!

Following college, Bruce entered the workforce where he began his career in accounting at Arthur Anderson, LLP, located in Southern California. After two years of gaining invaluable experience, a job opportunity at Hawkins, Cloward and Simister, a respected accounting firm located in Provo, Utah, presented itself. Yearning to get back to Utah and closer to family, Bruce accepted a position there. Hard-working, and dedicated to his clients and profession, Bruce eventually became a partner and enjoyed many satisfying years with that firm. After Hawkins, Cloward and Simister was sold, Bruce continued on as a partner at Eide Bailly. After leaving Eide Bailly and opting for semi-retirement, he continued providing his services at MyCPA, located in Orem, Utah. There, he finished out his remarkably successful career.

Professionally, Bruce was respected and relied upon, and he took this mantle of responsibility very seriously. He viewed those he provided services for not only as clients, but also friends. In every avenue of life, personally or professionally, if you were a friend of Bruce’s, you had a reliable friend for life.

As the years went on, Bruce’s wanderlust continued. When time allowed, he’d be ready to go, having already mapped out and researched his destinations. Via road trips, he saw many of them, be they national parks, historical places of interest, or destinations pertaining specifically to family and religious history. Out of necessity and just plain enjoyment, these activities made Bruce an avid hiker. One learned very quickly that if you went anywhere with Bruce, you brought along your hiking shoes and prepared for an adventure in the process. Also, it was fully expected that you’d be listening to classic rock playing in the car the entire way there and back.

Bruce’s interests were many and varied. Along with religious texts, he’d amassed stacks of history books, including biographies, as well as books related to various scientific disciplines. If ever curious how deep Bruce’s knowledge went, all one needed to do is be in the room as he watched Jeopardy on television and listen while he often out-answered actual contestants.

Among all that was interesting or important to Bruce throughout his life, there was nothing more important than his love for his family and dedication to his faith. He’s been unfailingly there for all of his family, most especially our mother, with whom he shared a very close bond

Bruce is survived by his loving siblings, Lynne Rawlings, Vance Garfield, Stephen Garfield, Margaret "Maggie" Nelson (Richard), Carole Seegmiller (Brad), plus many aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Elwin and Genevieve Smith Garfield, his brother Gary Garfield, and a nephew, Alex Seegmiller.

Though Bruce will be missed terribly by those of us left behind, our comfort comes in knowing that Bruce is now reunited with our mother, father and brother. Alongside them, countless other family members and friends. Together, they are joyously in the presence of our Savior and Heavenly Father.

We invite all who knew Bruce to share their memories and photographs on his memorial page. It is through these shared experiences that we can keep his spirit alive and honor the remarkable life he led.

A Memorial Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 7th, 2026 at 11a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2079 E. 2450 S., St. George Utah 84790. An Interment was held at the St. George City Cemetery.

The Peace of Wild Things
--Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life
and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in the beauty of the water,
and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives
With forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
Waiting with their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free.