Bruce John Hegstad

Bruce John Hegstad of Bel Air died at home on June 26, 2025. He was born January 13, 1937, in a small town along the Columbia River in northwest Oregon. He described his father, Vernon Hegstad, as a bona fide Norwegian, who at the time worked for a company exporting scrap steel and lumber, and his mother, Mildred Hegstad, née Coles, as a true example of the Scandinavian housewife.

During World War II, the family moved to Portland, Oregon, where Bruce completed his schooling at Portland Academy. After initially matriculating at Walla Walla College, Bruce set out at the beginning of his junior year with eleven other students on a scientific expedition to Mexico and central America—a trip that fed his spirit for adventure. Rather than return to Walla Walla College for his spring semester, he set off for ski patrol in Colorado and later transferred to Whitman College.

It was at Whitman, in 1958, that he met the love of his life, Mary Margaret “Mickie” Mills, who had also transferred to Whitman in her junior year from Georgetown Visitation, in Washington, DC. Bruce’s Sigma Chi brothers and Mickie’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters thought they would be perfect for each other, and not wanting to miss his opportunity, Bruce asked Mickie to marry him on New Year’s Eve (and again, more soberly, on New Year’s Day). They married on September 1, 1959, at the start of their senior year. Bruce later completed his B.S. in Business Administration from Portland State University and an Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School.

Together, Bruce and Mickie raised three children, John Randall (Randy), Karen, and Stephanie. Bruce worked multiple jobs to support his young family, eventually becoming a business leader in Portland, Oregon, where he served on the board of the World Affairs Council, the Mayor’s Committee for Civic Improvement, and the Portland Junior Chamber of Commerce.

Bruce loved building companies. In 1976, he relocated his family to Harford County, Maryland, to serve as President of Hazleton Systems, a manufacturing branch of Hazleton Laboratories Corporation. He then guided its medical device spin-off, Kirschner Medical Corporation, as President and CEO, growing the company from 20 employees with $3 million in revenue to 500 employees and $65 million.

He was active in Harford County, having served as a member of the Harford County Economic Development Advisory Board, President of the Harford Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, first Chairman of Upper Chesapeake Health System, President of the Harford County Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the Harford Community College Foundation Board of Trustees.

Later in life, his work in medical technology ventures took him to upstate New York, where he continued to support civic causes as a member of the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Schenectady and the Niskayuna Community Foundation.

Following retirement, Bruce and Mickie returned to Harford County. Bruce was not one to stay idle; true to his hard-working Scandinavian roots, he remained active maintaining and managing Millstad, a sports and events venue that he and Mickie owned from 1977 to 2021.

A lover of music, travel (particularly road trips across the USA), the Orioles, and the Ravens, Bruce above all loved and was proud of his family. He is survived by his wife of more than 65 years, Mickie, his son John Randall Hegstad and wife Sherry Cadow of Los Angeles; his daughter Karen Lennon and husband Dan Lennon of Whidbey Island, WA; his daughter Stephanie Hegstad and husband David Grosskopf of Seattle; grandchildren Christina and Whitney Hegstad, Nate and Anna Lennon, and Sophie, Amelia, and Maisie Grosskopf; and great-grandchildren Arthur Lennon and Billie Jensen.

A tribute to his life will be held at McComas Funeral Home in Bel Air on Tuesday, July 1, beginning at 10:00 a.m., with the funeral service at 11:00.