Bruce Anthony Amato

November 30, 1951 to April 7, 2020

Bruce Anthony Amato, 68, of Spring, Texas passed away peacefully in his home on April 7, 2020, surrounded by his wife and family.

Bruce was born November 30, 1951 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and spent much of his childhood at the beach and on the water. He graduated from Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale in 1969 and Florida State University in Tallahassee in 1979. Bruce was a veteran of the United States Air Force and received the Presidential Citation for Service in Southeast Asia.

Bruce traveled all over the world for both work and pleasure; he and his family lived in the Washington, DC area for many years before relocating to Houston in 2015. His career included positions in higher education, private business, not-for-profits, and government. He served as a Senior Executive for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon and helped establish the personnel infrastructure for the Transportation Security Administration. He called himself a Management and Marketing Consultant and he thrived in bringing order to organizations in chaos.

Bruce was a devoted husband and father. He quickly made friends everywhere he went. He was an avid swimmer, runner, sailor, and a Master chess player. He had a powerful butterfly stroke which earned him award ribbons his entire life. Bruce enjoyed writing, drawing, painting, and bad puns. He loved telling stories of his many adventures as a hitchhiker who crossed the country from Florida to Alaska several times as a young man and as a street vendor of handmade jewelry in Berkeley, California. He spent many wonderful days at the helm sailing the Chesapeake Bay, the Bahamas, and the British Virgin Islands with his wife and their children.

Bruce is survived by his loving wife and muse, Noreen Tama; son, Andersson Amato; stepson, Joseph Bellegarde of Silver Spring, Maryland; stepdaughter, Lauren Bellegarde of Spring, Texas; mother, Lillian Joyce Browne Amato of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; father, Fred T. Amato, Jr. and his wife, M.J of St. Augustine, Florida; brother, Fred T. Amato, III and his wife, Lynda of Pompano Beach, Florida; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws, dear friends, and neighbors.

Bruce will be greatly missed by all. His family looks forward to celebrating his remarkable life in the coming days and will schedule a gathering as soon as permitted. Memorial donations may be made to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.