Bruce H. Hale, Jr., born May 31, 1931 in Memphis as the only child of Bruce and Mattie Hale, Bruce attended Capleville Elementary and Whitehaven High School. Afterwards, he began working for his dad in the air and refrigeration business at Hale and Manning. You could also frequently find him racing stock cars at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis. He was a member of the Memphis Rodders hot rod car club. A concussion that left him unconscious for three days ended racing for him...for a while. He later raced at Lakeland Drag Strip and even served as its manager for a time.

He joined the Air National Guard and during part of that stint, he was stationed in Bermuda where one of his duties was to drive the jeep around the island for at least 21 miles daily so they could keep it. After he was discharged, he married Jene. The two of them met at a "Coke" party. A matchmaking mutual friend had arranged for them to sit beside each other. They went on to have 4 children: Rick, Barbara, Linda and Ron, and were married 69 years. The family enjoyed time together water skiing and visiting their lot in Heber Springs, Ark. They took vacations to Yellowstone, Pike's Peak and California, It was in California that Bruce first saw dune buggies that were powered by Volkswagen motors.

Bruce began Memphis Speed Shop which sold performance auto parts and also Mini-Car Center (also known at The Bug Shop). His 1940 Deluxe Business Coupe was featured in Rod and Custom magazine.In 1979 Bruce and Jene opened Bruce's Imports, a foreign car salvage yard.It was a family affair with Jene doing the bookkeeping and daughter Barbara handling car parts. His son Rick also worked there in later years after the Memphis Speed Shop closed. Rick managed the speed shop after his dad moved on to this other venture.

A longtime animal lover Bruce had a number of critters at the salvage yard including goats, chickens, guineas and even a llama. His daughter Barbara added to the menagerie when her mountain lion came there to live.

Bruce and Jene retired in 2001 and moved from Parkway Village to several acres in Byhalia. The first dream house they built and lived in for a few years was demolished when the construction of I-269 took part of their land. They built another dream house on their remaining acres.

Bruce died at home on June 17, 2026 after living a full and happy life.