Chad chose to rush the Gamma-Rho Chapter of Kappa Sigma for one reason: It was, oddly enough, in some twisted way, at his parent’s request. “My brother was a Sigma Chi, my dad was an SAE,” Brother Brucker said. “My parents always encouraged me to strive for the best, so I chose Kappa Sigma.”
And what a choice it was for Brother Brucker, who has lived his entire life adhering to the morals of Kappa Sigma, never allowing them to leave his mind. He is one of the fraternity’s history buffs and has been to the National Offices many times as well as visited many other historic Kappa Sigma locations, “returning with artifacts and an enduring appreciation of the [fraternity's] past history.”
While an undergraduate at Arizona, Brother Brucker was a Liberal Arts student. He played on the UA baseball team from 1957-58 and was active with intramural sports such as football, softball, badminton, horseshoes, basketball, volleyball, ping pong and pool. The chapter’s social arena led him to meet a woman that would have a great influence over his life, his future wife, Judy, a 1960 University of Arizona graduate and 1958 Kappa Sigma Stardust Queen.
Chad received a BA in January 1961 and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy for four years of active duty, which turned into 20 years in the Reserves. Brother Brucker earned an Air Medal, Outstanding Unit Citation and many service ribbons prior to retiring as a Captain. He was also an aviation instructor and examiner during his time in the Navy.
Following his years of service, Chad became an industrial engineer at Union Carbide Corporation. He then moved into the materials management department of Solar Turbines, Inc. before becoming a Systems Director at Integrated Systems Analysts (ISA). At Solar and ISA, Brother Brucker was responsible for developing, testing and installing several state of the art computer software systems. Finally, Chad’s career came full circle when he switched employers from ISA to Southwest Data & Software, where he became president before his retirement.
Brother Brucker and Judy have three children: Julie Matthews (UA ’89), 32; Dana, 30; and Matthew (UA ’95). They also have three grandchildren from Julie and her husband Tim: Tanner, 3; and Chad, 1.
