Bruce Andrew Merino — a 25-year veteran of The Home Depot, a longtime board member at Universal Forest Products, and a man whose impact reached far beyond the orange aprons — passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 20, 2026, surrounded by his family. He was 73.
For anyone who spent time in this industry over the past four decades, the name Bruce Merino likely surfaces a memory. A handshake. A piece of advice. A merchandising idea that worked. The kind of executive whose influence rippled outward through the colleagues he mentored and the decisions he made on behalf of the customer.
A Career Built From the Ground Up
Bruce was a San Diego native and a self-made businessman in the truest sense. He started his Home Depot career as a building materials merchant. From there, he climbed steadily through the company over a quarter century, eventually becoming President of The Home Depot’s Western Division and, later, President of The Home Depot EXPO — the company’s high-end home design concept.
It was the kind of career arc that’s only possible for someone who started in the work, stayed close to the work, and led from the floor up.
He retired from The Home Depot in 2009. But for Bruce, “retired” was a loose definition. Soon after, he joined the board of directors at Universal Forest Products, where he served for fifteen years, contributing his merchant’s eye and his industry relationships to one of the largest lumber and building products companies in North America. He was also an entrepreneur, co-founding KBLED, a venture he remained deeply involved with until his passing.
A Life Beyond the Aisle
Resumes don’t tell you who someone really was. Bruce’s family wrote that his pride and joy was them — his wife Marie, his three daughters, and his four grandchildren. The picture they painted in his memorial notice is the one worth holding onto: a man who loved cooking, who followed every Padres game, who played golf, and who spent his happiest afternoons by the pool with his grandchildren.
It’s a picture that makes it clear he never lost sight of what he was working for.
The Philanthropy That Mattered Most
For decades, Bruce was an avid supporter of The City of Hope Foundation, the national cancer research and treatment center based in Duarte, California. He raised and donated money for City of Hope with a passion the family described as deeply personal.
What We Take Forward
This industry runs on people. Bruce Merino was one of the best of them. A tip of the hat, and a thank you, for everything he gave to the home improvement community and to the City of Hope. Bruce’s family has shared that a celebration of life will be announced. In lieu of flowers, they ask that donations be made in Bruce’s name to Scripps Memorial or Scripps Green Transplant Center in La Jolla, California.
