EDGEWATER, Fla. – Bruce Joseph Stephenson, of Edgewater, Florida, passed away at home, with his family by his side on July 18, 2020, after a long illness. Bruce was born in Berlin, N.H., in 1954 to Harry and Marie Stephenson. His family lived in Gorham, N.H., Shelburne, N.H., and in 1970 moved to Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he graduated from Cape Elizabeth High School. Living on the coast, he acquired a passion for scuba diving and he attended several diving schools, achieving the level of Master Diver.

Bruce was a long standing member of the Road Kings Motorcycle Club out of Dummer, N.H., where he served two terms as president and three terms as vice president. He loved his time spent with his club brothers, going on many road trips and will be greatly missed by its members.

Bruce and two other diving associates opened Portland Diving Services, working for clients such as Bath Iron Works, Central Maine Power Company, State of Maine DOT and many varied commercial businesses around New England and the Portland waterfront.

Those who knew Bruce knew of his zest for adventure. Many will recall his stint in Key West, Florida, diving for treasure hunter, Mel Fisher. Mel was searching for the Spanish fleet which sank in a hurricane in 1622. While working with them they found the Galleon, Atocha and recovered millions of dollars of gold, silver, coins, jewelry, precious stones and artifacts.

While in the Keys, Bruce and some friends once loaded their Harleys on a boat and went to Cuba! While there, they spent two weeks riding their motorcycles, meeting the people and exploring much of the island.

Bruce later opened a dive shop in Berlin, N.H., and also on Sebago Lake in Maine, where he sold dive gear, filled tanks, taught scuba diving lessons and set, maintained and retrieved boat moorings. Never having lost his thirst for adventure or his treasure hunting spirit, he began a search for two World War II Corsair airplanes that were reported to have crashed into the lake in the 1940s. After researching various documents about the incident, and interviewing witness’s, he searched the area using Side Scan Sonar and found both planes. Using a ROVE equipped with lights and a camera, he captured the first video ever taken of the final resting place of these two war birds.

Bruce spent his later years residing in Edgewater, Florida, and the summer months at his family cottage in Five Islands, Maine.

Bruce was predeceased by his father and his sister, Catherine (Cassie) Fernald. He is survived by his mother and brothers, Craig and Brad, all of Edgewater, Florida; his brother, Carl and his wife Dianne of Cape Elizabeth, Maine; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Bruce will be sadly missed by his many friends and his family. A celebration of his life will be planned for a future date and notice will be made when the arrangements are finalized.