Obituary: Bruce Lamar

With great sadness, we announce the death of longtime Lexington resident Bruce William Lamar, a devoted husband, loving father, intrepid engineer, and prolific inventor. Bruce died peacefully at home after a 24-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, which he faced with the same courage, humor, and grace that defined his remarkable life.

Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1948, Bruce and his family moved to Palo Alto, California. Bruce earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley, an MS in Management Science from UCLA, an MS in Operations Research from MIT and a PhD in Civil Engineering from MIT.

Bruce loved teaching and learning. He taught for twelve years at the University of California (Irvine) and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. After returning to Massachusetts, Bruce worked as an operations research analyst at MITRE Corporation until his retirement. MITRE’s own statement of purpose – Solving Problems for a Safer World – would describe much of Bruce’s work.

Bruce was a scholar in the broad areas of systems and optimization, with scores of publications and patents spanning decades. Bruce’s well-known ‘bus routing algorithm’ is still used to teach an MIT Course on Assembly System Design Techniques. Bruce’s work in applied optimization has been instrumental in transportation, global shipping, computer networking, satellite communications and electoral redistricting. Bruce was involved in many local infrastructure projects aimed at increasing safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Bruce’s friends and colleagues remember his being unusually prescient and early to introduce them to new ideas and technologies, often decades before they were mainstream; including a precursor of the internet and email, recycling, and even Bruce’s own design for foldable bicycles. Mostly, they recall his deep consideration of others.

Bruce had a gift for making life joyful. He was a man of boundless energy and creativity, a tinkerer with an engineer’s mind who saw challenges as opportunities to invent and problem-solve. He approached life as one big experiment, fueled by curiosity and a knack for finding humor even in the smallest things. When Parkinson’s disease threatened to limit Bruce’s mobility, he cruised ahead with an ingenious succession of homemade canes, walkers, scooters, and bicycles. These devices often included a spring-loaded arm or hinged mechanism that cued Bruce to step forward, thereby defying one of the most disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, freezing of gait.

Bruce was known in his Lexington neighborhood for his many talents and generosity. Neighbors admired him immensely for his courage and optimism throughout his long illness. 

Above all, Bruce was a family man. He shared his life with his beloved wife, Mary Anne Lamar née Causino, and together they built a home filled with laughter, love, and often, wagging tails. He was the proud father of Anne Marie Lamar, Thomas Francis Lamar, and (late) William Joseph Lamar, and brother of (late) Jean Achelpohl. Annie, Tom, his wife Alexis Lloyd, and many nieces and nephews will forever carry Bruce’s playful spirit forward and will always remember his unconventional approach to life’s challenges. 

Bruce taught us to love fiercely, laugh deeply, and never take life too seriously. Though his absence leaves an unfillable void, his memory will forever be a source of light, warmth, and inspiration.

A celebration of Bruce’s life will be held in the spring.