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University of Richmond’s Dr. E. Bruce Heilman, Dies At the Age of 93

Doctor E Bruce Heilman on his Harley
E. Bruce Heilman at the University of Richmond Campus on his Harley (Photo: University of Richmond)

Dr. E.  Bruce Heilman, former president of the University of Richmond and a Harley-Davidson riding ambassador for World War II veterans, died over the weekend at the age of 93.  Charles Fishburne talked with him 11 years ago, when he was 82 and set to embark on a motorcycle journey to San Diego.

Transcript:

Charles Fishburne:  Like Tennyson's Ulysses, 82-year-old Dr. Bruce Heilman refuses to rust.

Dr. E. Bruce Heilman:  I'm heading out for San Diego, California, I'm returning to base.

Fishburne:  He was there 62 years ago, a marine just back from Okinawa, in the ashes of Hiroshima.  His ride back will be to honor his comrades and the university he presided over for 37 years.

Dr. Heilman:  Come my friends it's not too late to seek a newer world.

Fishburne:  He quotes Tennyson without a note.

Dr. Heilman:  To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.

Fishburne: 82-year-old Dr. E. Bruce Heilman and his Harley leave for San Diego, October 1st.

That story from our files on Dr. E. Bruce Heilman, who died Saturday at the age of 93.