Bruce Cirks, 53 of Mesa, AZ, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 from an extended illness. Per his wishes, cremation has been accorded and there are no services planned at this time. Memorials may be made to a veterans or autism organization of your choice.
Bruce was born in Aledo, IL, on January 21, 1970, to Elden and Martha Cirks. He attended Aledo schools and graduated from Aledo High School in 1988. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in meat science.
He married Julia Burch in 1990 and they had three children. She is deceased. In 2019, he married Emily Paulsen in Mesa, and she survives.
After college, he worked as a meat cutter in Homer, IL; Coal Valley, IL; and Pennsylvania. Later, he was employed at Case IH in Aledo, and was a manager at multiple locations of Sam’s Club and Bed Bath and Beyond.
Most recently, he fulfilled a dream to own and operate his own food truck, “The Traveling Butcher,” which specialized in Midwest comfort food. He then added two more trucks “All Cooped up in AZ” and “Spuds, Stoups and Sammies.” Through his food trucks, he supported two of his favorite causes: veterans, by giving back a portion of the proceeds, and autism awareness by employing and advocating for those with autism.
He was an avid Chicago Cubs fan.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Emily; three children, Jacob, Leah, and Rebekah (Benji Ortega) Cirks; one granddaughter, Julia; parents, Elden and Martha Cirks; siblings, Barb (Keven) Reick, Brenda (Trent Briggs) Mandle, Brad (Taryn), Brook (Nora), Brian, Bridget, Brandon, and Beth Cirks; and step-children, Grant, Tyler, and Madison Paulsen.