Boy Scout leader remembered for big heart, silly antics

A respected Boy Scouts of America leader and business owner is being remembered for his love for children and passion for woodworking.

Bruce Lustenhouwer, a 25-year resident of Granbury, passed away on May 28 at the age of 55, but his family vows to always keep his memory alive.

Easily recognizable by his booming voice, Bruce effortlessly assumed his role as a Boy Scouts cubmaster in the early 2000s.

“He loved kids, especially the boys in the Boy Scouts. He tried to get everyone through Eagle Scout,” said Paul, Bruce’s father.

Paul estimated Bruce helped at least a dozen Scouts earn their Eagle patch over the years.

“Even if they didn't want to become an Eagle Scout, he had a way about him. He got them there. I don't know how he did it all,” Paul said.

Bruce served as the committee chair for Troop 148 in Granbury, committee member for Pack 158 and part-time assistant scoutmaster for Troop 1220 for Godley. At the district level, he was the camping chair for both Santa Fe and Brazos Valley districts.

Bruce was once told in a training session, “If you’re not having fun as a Scout leader, you’re doing it wrong.” He truly enjoyed working with the Scouts, but he loved to experience that proud moment when the “light” would come on and a Scout would finally “get it” and master a skill.

He left a huge, lasting impact on his Scouts during his 20-year involvement, which was undoubtedly proved by the fact that approximately 200 Scouts showed up to his memorial ceremony.

“He was like a kid. He loved to play around,” said Denessa, his wife of 33 years. “Bruce was their favorite. They loved him.”

And that love for children was reciprocated.

“Every time he would come over, he would carry both of (his grandchildren) to the car. No matter how big they were,” Denessa said, choking back tears. “He had a bad back. He hurt like crazy all the time, but he would carry them kids no matter what. They're nine and 11 now, but he'd still pick them up and carry them to the car.”

Bruce did everything he could to put a smile on a child’s face, even taking it upon himself to regularly mow the local six-acre park at Waples Community Center for two-and-a-half hours.

“We worked on it for years, 10 to 15 years or so,” Denessa said, in reference to the park. “It was donated in the 40s to the community. It was a school and it burned down, and after that nobody messed with it. We went and cleaned it up and everything and we got it to where it's at now. It was just full of plants and rubbish and everything.”

“He went and bought a great, big lawnmower so he could mow it,” Paul said. “They were talking about turning that park over to the county possibly for an EMT station in the firehouse. He (Bruce) said, ‘You're not moving the ballpark — that's for the kids.’ He just loved it if he saw kids playing out there.”

Perhaps the only thing bigger than Bruce’s love for children was Frosty, the four-foot-tall inflatable snowman that accompanied Bruce on his many adventures around town.

“He drove around with the snowman in the back of his truck for five years,” Denessa said. “It was like a mascot.”

Frosty was the subject of many quirky pictures surrounding Bruce’s social media and even had its own Facebook page, Frosty the Inflatable Snowman.

“I know everybody knew him as, ‘that truck with that stupid snowman,’” Denessa said, with a smile.

It wasn’t long before Frosty was joined by some new friends — ducks.

“They had a bunch of ducks at the Christmas party for the Boy Scouts and Bruce won them at the darn thing,” Denessa said. “He put the big duck on top of his truck so the light from his truck would shine on top of it. The kids would look and say, ‘Look, the duckie.’ He just thought it was the neatest thing to make a kid smile. He didn’t care how stupid he looked.”

HARD-WORKING MAN

Bruce was a workaholic and threw himself into his passions, working seven days a week in his woodworking business, Elite Custom Cabinets.

“If it wasn't Boy Scouts, it was work. He never had time to go do anything else,” Denessa said.

“He was actually better than I was,” Paul said. “I taught him everything he knew and everything I know, and he figured it out for himself. He was very, very smart.”

Bruce took over the woodworking business from Paul in 1998, and was described by both Denessa and Paul as being “stubborn,” as he refused to hire anyone else into the business.

“He was a one-man crew. He wouldn’t accept anybody’s work,” Denessa said. “He had to have everything perfect. You could show him a picture and he could build it.”

“We’ve done some work for celebrities, which I cannot mention because of confidential agreements, but we went all over the nation when I did the shop,” Paul said.

Bruce taught the Wood Carving Merit Badge at the Brazos Valley Merit Badge College in Weatherford to about 75 scouts a year for more than 10 years. He also staffed several wood badge and National Youth Leadership Training/Twin Arrows courses. Over the years, he helped with several camporees and pinewood derbies.

Bruce was a huge nature lover, and refused to have Paul cut down any trees on his property.

“He loved to go to the creeks and just run around in nature. There were many times I was just holding the fishing poles and we never used them, just went through the woods,” Denessa said.

He even made his own makeshift house for his turtle, Junior, out of a five-gallon plastic drum.

Bruce’s inability to say “no” also earned him a reputation of always being ready to help.

“If somebody needed help, all you had to do was call Bruce. He was right there to help. It didn't matter; he was there,” Paul said. “He was quite the guy. Just a wonderful person.”

Bruce will always be remembered as a man who loved life and was always ready to help others. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.