David Bruce Vandevender

Following a very short battle with leukemia, David Bruce Vandevender, loving husband, father, and grandfather, left this earth and was in the presence of his Lord on May 29, 2026, at the age of 60. He was born on January 12, 1966, to Alton Kirk Vandevender and the late Hazel O’Guynn Eubanks Vandevender. On June 28, 1997, he married the love of his life, Alisa Rodden. Together, they had two amazing children, Leanne Brown, married to James Guy Brown, and Ryan Vandevender, married to Hattie Casteen. He had two grandchildren, Sophia Casteen and Mason Vandevender, who lovingly referred to him as Bulldawg, and was expecting to hold his new grandson in July, James Bruce Brown. He had one sister, Sandy McRaney, married to Will McRaney, and numerous nieces and nephews that he completely adored. He is preceded in death by his mother, Hazel Vandevender as well as his grandparents. Bruce was born and raised in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where he graduated from high school in 1984. After graduation, he attended Mississippi State University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in business administration. This is where Bruce began his career working with college students. After graduation, he became the director of operations at Mississippi State University. While there, he worked with The Music Makers production and had many stories of all of the concerts that they produced while at Mississippi State. Then, in January of 1995, he traveled across the country to start a job at New Mexico State University. He was the director of campus activities for many years, where he was able to mentor numerous students in campus activities. Then, right before COVID, he became the director of student support, where he was able to provide extra support socially, mentally, and financially to students who were in need. He loved working with students almost as much as he loved his family. He retired from New Mexico State University December, 31st 2023. Then, in January of 2024, Bruce and his family moved to the Mobile, Alabama, area, where he continued working with post-secondary students at Spring Hill College.from infancy, faith and trust in the Lord were instilled in him by his parents. He was always actively involved in church and church activities. While he was in the youth group, he was part of a traveling choir from his church. Then later, as an adult, he became a deacon, trustee, and leader in his church. Service to the church was always very important in Bruce's life. Bruce's Legacy will be to have his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and live their lives the way he lived his life, in service to the Lord. People often talk about how much they love Bruce for his kindness and compassion. He always wanted to bring out the best in all who were near him. Bruce was quite the prankster. He enjoyed taking people by surprise, such as replacing Oreo cream with toothpaste in cookies that he shared with people. He would also tape down the water sprayers at a sink so that when people turned the sink on, they would get splashed with water. He had very few rules that he lived by, but the number one rule was “Safety First,” followed by “Have Fun.” Bruce was always devoted to his family. He never missed a baseball game, a choir concert, a band concert, or any other activities that his children were involved in. He always had a joke to tell and laughed easily with others, Bruce loved to bowl and play softball in his church leagues. He enjoyed fishing, camping and geocaching with his family while the children were young. Later he learned the art of smoking meats and became quite the Craftsman with his smokers. He always loved cooking for other people, and when they wanted meat for a family event, he was always ready and willing to help with that. Services for Bruce will be held at Cottage Hill Baptist Church Chapel (4255 Cottage Hill Road, Mobile, AL) on Wednesday, June 3, with visitation from 1:00 to 1:45 and the Celebration of Life at 2:00 pm. Bruce had a passion for his children and grandchildren including so many “adopted” grandchildren, so in lieu of flowers, please send donations to Cottage Hill Baptist Church for Indoor Playground equipment to help the next generations learn a passion for coming to church, even as preschoolers.

David Bruce Vandevender

January 12, 1966 - May 29, 2026