In Celebration of Bruce Bigelow: Our Memories, His Playlist

[Updated, 7/5/18. See below] Bruce Victor Bigelow, editor of Xconomy San Diego, passed away Friday afternoon, June 29, at the age of 63. He had suddenly fallen ill less than a week earlier, after he returned to San Diego from a hiking trip in Utah.

Our initial post about Bruce’s death is here. And the San Diego Union-Tribune has a really nice piece as well. But we at Xconomy, after hollering “Stet” in vain to that editor in the sky, wanted to do something more. This is not so much to mourn Bruce’s loss, but to celebrate our times together, and his extraordinary collegiality, friendship, and spirit.

We found we had so much to say, and were hearing so much from people in San Diego and beyond whose lives Bruce had touched, that we’ve begun to collect it on a special site devoted to Bruce’s memory. We’ve also included some great photos of Bruce and, as a special treat, the phenomenal playlist he put together for his 60th birthday, along with his own notes on why he selected each of the 16 songs. We hope that reading the stories gathered there—and perhaps adding your own or listening to some of his favorite music—brings you comfort and helps you remember what a rare treat it was to know Bruce.

[Update: Bruce’s memorial service will be on Friday, July 13, at 5:30pm in San Diego.]

Photo by Caitlin Bigelow.

Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.