Neil Adolph Bruder

Neil Adolph Bruder, 87, of Onaway went to live with his Lord and walk the streets of purest gold July 21, 2020. He passed peacefully at McLaren Northern Michigan hospital holding hands with is daughter Wendy (Jerry) Neff and grandson Ryon (Suzy) Bruder.

He was born on Lake Street in Mt. Clemens July 25, 1932 to Hugo Ferdinand and Bertha Augusta (Domke) Bruder, the second child of seven.

He is survived by his brothers, Robert (Carolyn) Bruder and Charles Bruder; children, Stephan (Pat) Bruder and Wendy (Jerry) Neff; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and a brother-in-law, Keith Lemire.

Neil was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Joanne (Schaedig) Bruder; a daughter, Martha Bruder; sisters, Barbara Jane (David) Merchant, Linda (Rod) Way and Nancy Lemire; and a brother, Lester Bruder.

Neil was a daredevil, risk-taking storyteller from day one. His business card only lists International pipe liner, sailboat builder and welder on the front, but it is the poem, “The Cross in my Pocket” written on the back that told his story. Neil was working alongside the indigenous tribes of Papua New Guinea when it was still part of Australia. He helped to build the infrastructure needed for Nigeria’s oil boom in the 1970s where he made friends with a sugar-loving monkey. He worked on the Trans-Alaska pipeline (1975-77) and shared his lunch with the bears there. Neil helped to extinguish the Kuwaiti oil fires in 1991 and made jewelry from the melted sand. Fluent in Arabic, Farsi and his native German, he also spoke a little Swahili as a result of living on five continents. He brought uniqu

e treasures back from the places he went and shared with everyone the history and culture of the people he lived and worked with. He was a pilot, a reverend of the Gospel Ministries and had gotten his captain’s license to sail the 1861 “Manpawan” an Indian dhow, (a traditional sailing vessel used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region), he bought in 1995 at the age of 76. Neil was a member of the Ocquoec Baptist Church and was instrumental in building the Bethel Youth Camp.

No services have been scheduled at this time due to the novel coronavirus.

Arrangements in care of the Beck Funeral Home.

Online condolences may be addressed through www.beckfuneralhome.org.