Family, friends, co-workers and even a fellow hunter turned out Wednesday morning to say farewell to a man who served the community as a member of the Warwick City Council and then as City Council President.

With St. Peter Church bright in its Christmas decorations, Msgr. Nicholas Iavovacci read of the birth of Jesus to open funeral services for Bruce Place, who died last Tuesday at the age of 76.

Msgr. Iavovacci talked about the good Bruce did for the city and its citizens.

“He did good because it was there to be done. There are those who can come along and say, ‘Somebody should do this. Somebody should have this done. There should be something done about this situation. Somebody.’ My brothers and sisters, Bruce became that somebody in the city of Warwick.”

Ward 6 Councilwoman Donna Travis remembers Place as the best City Council President she has worked with. She called him a “caring and loving person.”

She stayed in touch with Place after he chose not to seek reelection and had planned to stop in and see him, only to learn he had died. Place was diagnosed with lung cancer about nine years ago and, following a series of treatments, was cancer-free. Within the past two months he suffered from pain in his hip that turned out to be multiple tumors.

“We worked well together,” said Travis. She said, “he listened to everybody” in an effort to arrive at a fair and workable solution.

Rep. K. Joseph Shekarchi recalled that quality during the extended negotiations between the city and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation over the extension of the airport’s main runway to 8,700 feet. Once the Federal Aviation Administration gave the extended runway the green light, the council challenged the finding, initiating a suit in the federal courts even though the city administration and RIAC had reached a memorandum of understanding that among other things required the relocation of Winslow Park playing fields at RIAC’s expense. Through a succession of meetings, the council and the airport refined the earlier agreement that was enacted when the council dropped its legal action.

Despite his efforts, a use for the former Christopher Rhodes School evaded Bruce. After the school closed, it temporarily housed the Rhode Island School for the Deaf. Then it went vacant. Sensitive to the residential character of the neighborhood, Bruce did not want to see a development that would be a high generator of traffic, yet leaving it vacant he knew it would fall into disrepair and eventually be a detriment.

After community meetings, the city solicited proposals to convert the school into an assisted living facility. There were no offers. Bruce remained committed to finding an appropriate use for the property, heading a committee that worked on that effort after leaving the council.

In response to a second solicitation, the Artists’ Exchange based in Cranston offered to lease the school for a dollar a year, making it a center for its programs and providing services to Warwick at no cost. That plan fell by the wayside when the cost of renovating the school proved excessive. Even the most recent proposal to raze the school and build single-family homes appears to have hit a snag, surely to Bruce’s disappointment.

News of Bruce’s death set a somber note in the midst of the holiday season.

Mayor Scott Avedisian ordered city flags to be flown at half-staff. In a statement, the mayor said, “Bruce was a fine Council President, Councilman, husband, father and grandfather. Most importantly, Bruce was a true, loyal friend. His keen sense of fairness, his bedrock values of justice and equality and his amazing sense of humor made all discussions on policy issues very interesting and colorful. I will miss his smile, his intellect and his wit.”

On Wednesday morning, as he stood on the steps to St. Peter Church waiting for the Place family to arrive at the church, the mayor recounted how he had visited Bruce the day he died. He told of how Bruce was aware of the limited time he had left and gave him both a whimsical and serious “assignments.” Bruce, he said, asked for a cold beer and then, with a serious request, asked if he might be provided burial services from St. Peter Church.

Reflecting on Bruce’s tenure in public service, Avedisian attributed him with city pension reform, relating how the two had talked over the pros and cons of various changes and then, later, how Bruce worked with union leaders to reform pension benefits going forward so that plans would be both fair to employees and affordable to the taxpayers.

“He got the notion of solving problems,” he said.

Lara D’Antuono, director of the Warwick Boys and Girls Clubs worked closely with Bruce on issues impacting Ward 2 and the Norwood club.

“He was the epitome of a gentleman and a politician. He's someone you would want the youth and the public at large of Warwick to look up to,” she said. “He always saw the good in people and in things. The world is a much better place because he was in it.”

Representative and Democratic Party Chair Joseph M. McNamara, who attended the funeral, said in a statement he was honored to have known and worked with Bruce. McNamara said he “was impressed by the way he used his analytical skills and lifelong experience as an aeronautical engineer in approaching problem-solving – a rare commodity today.”

“Bruce was compassionate about everything he did and was deeply devoted to his family, his community and to saving our environment. We were lucky to have known him: he will be deeply missed.”

A longtime friend, Paul Wyrostek will always remember his hunting trips to Maine with Bruce, which was more about camaraderie than hunting.

Sebago, Maine, where the Places have a home, also provided fond memories for former Ward 1 Councilman Steve Colantuono. Colantuono referred to Bruce as a friend, a mentor and a big brother. On a winter visit to Maine with his family and Avedisian, Colantuono recalls sledding with his daughter Niveyah. The two sped downhill, failing to stop and sliding out on a frozen Peabody Pond to Niveyah’s delight and to Bruce’s amusement.

During Wednesday’s service, Colantuono turned to Avedisian and asked what he was thinking at that moment. The Peabody Pond episode was on both their minds.

Perhaps it was the cold of the day, but more likely it was the warmth of a friendship that will be always treasured.

(With reports from Ethan Hartley)