On Memorial Day, 2022, we received a wonderfully complementary note from Paul Englund, MHS Class of 1954.  He provided some information about Bruce which we were able to use to find Bruce’s obituary which follows:

Bruce Richard Barkstrom, 73, of Asheville passed away on Sunday, July 1, 2018.  Born on August 16, 1944 in Rock Island County, IL, he was a son of the late Reynold and Evelyn Barkstrom.  He was an alumnus of both the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL class of 1966, and Northwestern University in Evanston, IL class of 1973 where he received his doctorate.  He retired from both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2006 and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration in 2008.  In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by a grandson.  Surviving are his wife of 52 years, Alice Barkstrom; children, Gustaf Barkstrom and Anne Moore of her spouse, Ryan; brother, John “Jack” Barkstrom; and two grandsons.  A memorial service will be held at 2:30 PM on Sunday, July 8, 2018 at the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville of which he was a member.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Americans for Responsible Solutions, P.O. Box 51196, Washington, DC 20091. Condolences may be made to the family at www.ashevilleareaalternative.com.

This link is to an article about Bruce's scientific contributions to NASA  and the science community:
https://eos.org/articles/bruce-barkstrom-1944-2018

https://www.ashevilleareaalternative.com/obituary/Bruce-Barkstrom