Eckhart/Eric Bromse

Members of the Grey-Bruce Section were devastated to learn of Eckhart Bromse’s passing away on February 23, 2023 in Collingwood, Ontario. He was always a gentleman and seldom was without a smile on his face.

He arrived in Canada in 1957, and was soon employed at the Collingwood Shipyards where his rare skill of underwater welding made him a specialist there. After ten years, he opened his own business, Collingwood Welding and Machine Shop, and his reputation for high-quality workmanship soon forced him to move the business to larger premises.

He worked on projects still standing today including the Collingwood Grain Elevators, the Thornbury water-tower, and the first ski gantries and lift chairs at Blue Mountain and Mount St. Louie- Moonstone ski resorts.

Eckhart served as President of the Grey-Bruce Section and meetings were occasionally held at his home. He often opened by telling a tale of his most recent adventures with one of his BMWs.

One of his favourites – and one of ours – involves himself and an Ontario Provincial Police officer. We had been on a Section History Ride to the nearby town of Walkerton where the public had been invited to tour the soon-to-be-closed historic Walkerton jail. Splitting up afterwards to go our individual routes homeward, Eckhart was stopped for speeding. Asked where he was coming from in such a hurry, he truthfully responded, “I’m coming from jail.” That prompted a less than gentle request to turn off the big twin, take off the helmet, get off the bike, and show all the necessary paperwork – a process some of us know all too well. His story continues, as only Eckhart could tell it, “Somehow, after a little chat, he decided I wasn’t lying, or crazy, or trying to be smart, and he let me go, even with no ticket.” The manner in which he told the story was pure Eckhart and it should have been taped. It did win the Grey-Bruce Superwrench Trophy Award for motorcycle adventure stories, one year, and there were many other stories just as good.

To the entire Bromse Family, our sincere condolences on your loss – it’s our loss too -- and Eckhart will be sorely missed and not forgotten.

Submitted by Ted Oliver