Bruce Arthur “The Colonel” Bieri (74) – This cowboy took his final ride February 5th, near Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino and Resort on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico. Bruce spent his final weeks road-tripping in his “traveling condo”, gambling, beating felony charges(non-violent, case was dismissed), gambling, helping neighboring campers shovel snow, gambling, loaning his truck to strangers so they could get to work, gambling, and giving them the remaining gas he had to ensure they could stay warm during a Southern New Mexico blizzard Fern that brought 18 inches of snow. Before arriving at his final campsite, he made a pit stop at Billy the Kid Casino/Ruidoso Downs Racetrack where he had visited with his brother Brian and friend Wayne in the early 70’s. Unfortunately, upon arrival, his traveling condo was a little too tall and hit the “not so welcome” gate. In Bruce’s words, he ended up replacing the ceiling air-conditioning unit with a skylight. While in New Mexico, he was also able to check visiting the International UFO Museum in Roswell off his bucket list, which he had talked about for years. Before embarking on what ironically ended up being his kick the bucket list trip, Bruce supported three of his favorite places in the Midwest on his way out of town: Oneida Casino, Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin Dells, and Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, IL. The Buffalo slots were his favorite along with table game Mississippi Stud.
Bruce was born October 27th, 1951, in Madison, WI. He graduated from New Lisbon High School and started a painting business, which led to him completing Certified Auctioneer School (CAI) from Indiana University and Accredited Appraiser of Real Estate (AARE) programs. Bruce then started Wild Rose Auction and Real Estate Company and later Wisconsin Real Estate Auctioneers. Bruce mentored many auctioneers along the way and valued their success as much as his own. He also co-owned and revived the Wild Rose Hotel with buddies Tom, Rick, Craig, and Dick. After almost 40 years in the auction industry, Bruce got his commercial driver’s license (CDL) and hit the road – this allowed him to see many parts of the country and loved every minute of it. Of thousands of professional accomplishments, accolades, and awards, Bruce was proudest of achieving the 1999 Wisconsin State Fair Bid Calling Champion and being named the 2003 Wisconsin Businessman of the Year – which led to dinner with President George W. Bush.
Outside of gambling, Bruce enjoyed watching (and cheering because if you knew Bruce, he was the most vocal person every place he went) his sons Blake and Bryce play sports – especially Home Talent Baseball, watching the Packers (in addition to his parlay cards), playing cribbage, attending his son-in-law Wayne’s races at WIR, buying/selling anything where a dollar could be made or lost, taking an afternoon nap, waxing and shaping his iconic handle bar mustache, checking in on Tanya and David and helping others in any way he could. He especially enjoyed the time spent with family over the last year including learning about a long-lost daughter and granddaughters. He spent his last 10 months on his daughter Meredith’s land, staking claim as LOT 151, hanging out, dancing, storytelling, laughing, gardening, cooking, playing cribbage, camping at the Iola Car Show, tinkering, and loving family every single day. His final act of kindness was delivering five turkey dinners to families in need — invoicing Meredith $2,800 for labor. In Bruce’s words, they were partners on the deal. One of his (and our) favorite memories was putting on a Santa themed suitcoat at Christmas and auctioning off random items from a surplus store to his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. His auction chant was as sharp, crisp, and world-renowned as it was 30 years ago…