Paulette M. Bruce

Sacramento, California - Paulette Michelle Bruce, 76, passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side on January 5, 2021, after a short battle with metastatic lung cancer.
Paulette lived a life brimming with the love of family and friends, successful business endeavors, hobbies and talents. She was born in Bakersfield, California on February 20,1944, to parents Pete and Gena Uhalt. As a young girl in a large Basque and Italian family, she was taught the art of cooking and entertaining by her mother and her Nonna. In 1959, Paulette took 3rd place in the National Figure Roller Skating Championship in Boston, MA. She graduated from East Bakersfield High School in 1962, then attended Bakersfield Community College. In 1964, she won the "Miss Wool of Kern County" contest, for fashioning the various outfits she wore in the competition out of wool. She then went on to attend and graduate from San Jose State University.
In the early 1970's, Paulette moved to Sacramento and started her career in the California State Legislature. In the early 1980's, she opened Paulette Bruce Public Relations. Paulette was a force in her work life, admired and adored by the many colleagues, students and friends whose lives she touched as she raised her family and worked in Sacramento. She was the humble recipient of various honors and awards, including Person of the Year in both 1987 and 1989; and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sacramento Public Relations Association in 1996.
Paulette was a founding member of Sacramento Magazine's "Dining Divas", alongside 5 restaurateurs/foodies. She started teaching cooking classes 25 years ago, eventually establishing Good Eats Cooking Classes, where she donned a white chef's coat and educated many home cooks in the ways of Plugra butter, proper knife sharpening, kosher salt and more. Paulette has left behind a veritable banquet of happy, well-fed customers and friends, whom she taught in private homes and commercial kitchens throughout Sacramento as well as her own home kitchen.
A kind people-person with a warm smile and a quick wit, Paulette celebrated holidays-- especially Thanksgiving and Easter--generously, with long, inclusive guest lists and delightful spreads of delicious foods that she spent days and weeks preparing. Children delighted in her annual Easter egg hunt and the grand prize "Golden Egg", always filled with cash, tucked away and awaiting discovery in her magical backyard.
Paulette took pride in her many pursuits, but her greatest joy came from raising and being a part of the lives of her three sons. Paulette is survived by her sons, Rob Bruce, Kevin Bruce, Michael Bruce (Kristen) and her brother Gary Uhalt (Jane). She has 7 grandchildren who she loved dearly: Gena, Mila, Ryan, Owen, Nick, Sofia and Roman.
The family will plan a celebration of Paulette's life at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to Jenna and Patrick's Foundation of Hope (www.jpfh.org), a charity near and dear to Paulette's heart.