Bruce, age 61, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on June 6th. Bruce was born on October 21, 1949 in New York, to Herbert Furst and Judith Halpern. He is survived by his wife Vickie, his son Brett, his mother Judith Grogins, his step-mother Sandra Furst, his brothers Joel Furst, Jay Furst, and Danny Grogins, his sister Sheryl Furst Heier and too many nieces, nephews and cousins to name.
Bruce grew up on the East Coast and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a BS Degree in Business. Bruce played on the Colorado soccer team as a midfielder and also served as the captain of the team. An avid and accomplished skier since childhood, Bruce spent many days on the Colorado slopes in between his studies and soccer commitments. Upon graduation, Bruce moved to Northern California where he began a career in teaching and accounting. Bruce taught in a number of public high schools in the Bay Area prior to establishing a local accounting practice.
At Thanksgiving, 2002, Bruce met Vickie, the love of his life. Vickie brought passion, energy, and joy into his life. On November 19, 2006, Bruce and Vickie were married at the Cliff House in San Francisco. Bruce and Vickie were true soul mates sharing a passion for sports, the outdoors, life, and each other.
Bruce took great pride and joy in the relationship he shared with his son, Brett. A highlight of Bruce’s life came shortly before his passing when he was able to witness Brett’s graduation from Cal State University-Monterey Bay in late May.
Bruce was stricken with kidney disease in his 30's and eventually lost both his kidneys. Despite this, he continued to live an extraordinarily active life. He worked, skied all the expert slopes of the Sierras, attended Cal basketball games, and most of all, coached youth soccer. For better than 40 years, Bruce coached school and club soccer teams at just about every youth age level. A recounting of his coaching experience would literally take several pages. He experienced the delight of coaching his son's Montclair Soccer Club teams and moved on to coach many Bay Oaks Soccer Club teams. One of Bruce's girls' teams won the Northern California state championship and he took another girls' team to the finals of the state championship. He also took one of his boys' teams to the semi-finals of the state championship. Many of Bruce's players went on to play college soccer. Bruce's trophy shelf contains more "hardware" than Home Depot. More than the championships, Bruce leaves a legacy of positively influencing the lives of every player he coached, the parents of his players, and all the other coaches he mentored. Bruce was a naturally gifted teacher who did so much more than teach the mechanics of the game – he espoused a philosophy of competition that emphasized focus and commitment, winning and losing graciously, sportsmanship and, most importantly, the pure joy that can be found in sports.
A celebration of Bruce's life will be held later this month on a date to be announced. For more information on the upcoming event, please go to http://BruceFurst.blogspot.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: EBUSC-Bruce Furst Scholarship Fund and mailed to 6114 La Salle Ave., Suite 424, Oakland, CA 94611. The scholarship fund will aid low income soccer players as they pursue their passion for the game.
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