Bruce, Mary Jeffries.

Mary Jeffries Bruce was born in Clinton, Kentucky and raised in Tennessee. She attended Peabody College in Nashville where she majored in Art and then Voice. Ms. Bruce taught school in Paris, Tennessee. She moved to Tucson in 1930 where she married V.T. Jeffries and became the mother of John Edgar. In 1942 she was appointed program chairman for a small Young Adult Discussion Group which met in the old University Catalina Methodist church. This small discussion group becameThe Sunday Night Forum and one of the nations largest nonprofit community forums under her leadership. The Forum grew and ultimately moved to a larger venue, University of Arizona Main Auditorium (now known as Centennial Hall). At first the guest speakers were famous people wintering in Tucson or local notables, especially members University of Arizona faculty. By 1945 the guest speakers included political leaders and some world renowned persons. Besides famous speakers, the forum also presented travel films, nationally known dance groups, theatrical groups, and musical groups.

Finally after 42 years as a Tucson institution the Sunday Evening Forum gave its final performance on April 8, 1984. The board of the Catalina United Methodist Church decided to discontinue the Forum at the end of the 1983/84 season. The board had sponsored the forum since it began in 1942. The closure was attributed to high speaker fees, lack of interest by the public, and finally the announcement by the University of Arizona that the Main Auditorium would not be available for the next season of the forum while it underwent renovation.

Ms. Bruce was responsible for bringing many of the most prominent political and cultural figures of the time to Tucson. Ms. Bruce directed the Sunday Night Forum for 34 years before retiring in 1976. In her lifetime Mary Jeffries Bruce was very active in the National Association for Mental Health and was voted a regional vice president serving on the National Executive Committee in 1954. She was also a past president of the Tucsons Boys Choir 1949/-950 and arranged for the Chorus to sing at the New York Town Hall. Ms. Bruce was also the volunteer Executive Secretary for The Pima County Mental Health Association. She passed away on February 7, 1993 at the age of 89.