Bruce Garniss Pendleton

Bruce Garniss Pendleton, age 88, died at his home in Fairfax, Vermont, on Tuesday afternoon, May 11, 2021, from lung cancer. Bruce was born on March 8, 1933, the son of George L. Pendleton and Marion née Butterfield, both of New York City. Raised in New York City, he married Georgia Metria Lopez who preceded him in death. They were happily married for 65 years. While living in New York City, the Pendletons raised four daughters.

Bruce served in the United States Army as a photographer during the Korean War when he was stationed in Germany. After managing a color photo lab in Manhattan, Bruce opened his own photography studio and went on to have a varied successful career as a still-life advertising photographer based in New York City. He created the cover art for Stereo Review Magazine for more than a decade along with still-life advertising, public service announcements and illustrations for many accounts over four decades. He was an innovator behind the lens and in the darkroom. He wrote Creative Still Life Photography, collaborated with Merrill Lindsay to do the photographic illustrations on several books including One Hundred Great Guns, and won honorable mention for his short film The Old Swimming Hole at an early San Francisco Film Festival. He traveled the world for work and for pleasure, was a gourmet cook, and loved telling stories about the adventures he had. After retiring to Vermont, Bruce digitized many of his best photographs, entering them in juried art shows in New England. He won Best In Show and Best of Category at the 2002 Helen Day Winter Show in Stowe, Vermont, among other accolades. Bruce enjoyed working as a guide at the Shelbourne Museum where he often staffed the Ticonderoga and the Print Shop.

Bruce is survived by his four daughters: Lesley Barker of Paris, Kentucky, Chris (David) Rushton of Bethany, Oklahoma, Nancy (Craig) Smith of Bel Air, Maryland, and Paige (Jefrey) Jensen of Ellijay, Georgia; fourteen grand-children and seven great-grand-children with one on the way.  

Services are private.