Bruce MacDonald, 1944-2020

Bruce MacDonald, the former leader with the Guelph Pipe Band of Ontario and a judge with the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario, died in a vehicle crash on February 18, 2020. He was 75.

MacDonald served as pipe-sergeant with Guelph during the band’s formative years in the 1970s and assumed the role of the pipe-major during the band’s resurrection in the 1990s. He was most recently pipe-major of the Teeswater Pipe Band.

“I first met Bruce in 1970 when I joined the Guelph Pipe Band and Bruce was pipe-sergeant,” said Jim McGillivray. “He was a solid leader and a great guy. He was from Bruce County, my dad’s stomping ground, so that was always a common bond. He was a country gentleman, but he also had a doctorate and was an intellectual. Bruce was a low-key but valuable leader in the Ontario piping community.”

MacDonald was the victim of a head-on collision with his car and a transport truck while travelling near the town of Mildmay, Ontario. He was a native and lifelong resident of Bruce County, Ontario, and a well-regarded and well-liked adjudicator at Ontario piping competitions.

The visitation will be at Tiffin Funeral Home, Teeswater, February 21st, 6-9 pm, and the funeral at Knox Presbyterian Church, Teeswater, February 22nd at 1 pm.

On behalf of the piping and drumming world, we extend our sympathies to Bruce MacDonald’s family and friends at this sad time.