M. Bruce Milam

   Manning Bruce Milam, 97, formerly of Sunbury, NC, and more recently Winston-Salem, died Thursday, May 1, 2025.

   Bruce was born March 14, 1928, in Greenwood, South Carolina, to the late Manning and Eva Bruce Milam. He grew up in Emporia, Virginia. In 1946, following one year at Wake Forest College, he joined the United States Army, 1st Calvary, 12th Regiment under General Douglas McArthur and served for eighteen months in Occupied Japan. He returned to Wake Forest and graduated in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in general science. He was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity. Bruce was a lifelong and devoted Demon Deacon fan. He especially enjoyed following the baseball team. The day before his death, he asked “who won the ballgame?” In 2007, he and his wife Ann established the Ann and Bruce Milam Athletic Scholarship in support of the Wake Forest baseball program.

   Bruce married Ann Hofler on November 8, 1952, and they moved to Wilmington, NC, where he joined the National Cash Register Company before settling in Sunbury in 1954. In Sunbury, he was associated with Hofler Tractor and Implement Company for 59 years, retiring as its president in 2010. He always believed he had the best customers in the world. Bruce also remembered and appreciated two especially valuable business associates — his niece, Jo Hofler, and Doug Lilley.

   Bruce was a faithful member of Philadelphia United Methodist Church in Sunbury where he served as the chairman of the finance committee for forty years. He was a charter and founding member of the Sunbury Volunteer Fire Department, a member of the Sunbury Investment Club, and chairman of the local board of First Citizens Bank. He was vice-president of the Carolinas Equipment Dealers Association, and in 1975 and 1976, he was a member of the International Harvester’s National Dealers Council. For several years, he enjoyed his volunteer work with Meals on Wheels.

   Bruce and Ann spent many happy years at their home on Lake Gaston, often entertaining friends and family with their special brand of hospitality. In 2016, they moved to Arbor Acres Methodist Retirement Community in Winston-Salem.

   Bruce was the brother of the late A. E. “Red” Milam.

   He is survived by his wife, Ann Hofler Milam; two sons, Bruce Hofler Milam and his wife Kathryn of Winston-Salem and Stephen Lewis Milam and his wife Tamara of Hockessin, Delaware, as well as four grandchildren, Sarah Milam of New York City, Margaret Milam of Tampa, Florida, Robert Milam and his wife Debra of Dallas, Texas, and Andrew Milam and his wife Katie of Hockessin, Delaware; and four great-grandchildren, Ford, Ezra, and Sam Milam of Dallas, Robbie Foote of New York City. Also surviving are his nephews, Bob Milam (Alicia) of Greenville, NC, and Vincent Milam (Julie) of Bowling Green, KY; and Ann’s family, sisters-in-law, Marjorie and Joy Hofler, nephews, Sidney Hofler (Debra), Myron Hofler (Tracy), and nieces, Jo Hofler and Jamie Robbins (Mike).

   Graveside services will be held at Damascus Church in Sunbury at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 4th.

   Memorial contributions may be made to Sunbury Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 40, Sunbury, NC 27979.

   The family wishes to express their deep appreciation to the doctors, nurses, and staff of Arbor Acres and Atrium Baptist Health Center for the excellent care they provided their loved one during his period of declining health.