PORTSMOUTH — Bruce G. Medley, the owner of Prudence Island Ferry and the sole provider of ferry service to the island for about three decades until 2014, died Wednesday, May 17, at his Portsmouth home. He was 65.

Mr. Medley, a Portsmouth resident for more than 25 years, operated runs from Bristol to Prudence from the mid-’80s until September 2014, when A&R Marine took over ferry operations

As a teenager, he worked for the Prudence Ferry under Luther Blount, the well-known shipbuilder in Warren. His uncle, Donald Medley, had been controller of the company. 

When Mr. Blount died, he offered Bruce the position of yard manager before he gave his company, Blount Marine Industries, to his daughters. Mr. Medley’s parents and the Blounts had adjoining pews at the Methodist Church in Warren. 

Mr. Medley was the husband of Erica (Greene) Medley; they were married for 26 years. Born in Providence, he was a son of the late Arthur and Grace (Bosworth) Medley. 

A University of Rhode Island graduate and a former Barrington resident, Mr. Medley was an antique enthusiast who collected grandfather clocks and he was involved with the Historic Deerfield museum in Deerfield, Mass.

Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, Nicholas Medley, of Portsmouth; and two daughters, Grace Medley of Newport, and Katherine Medley of Burlington, Vt. He was the brother of the late Raymond Medley. 

An obituary for Mr. Medley can be viewed here.

Burial will be private. For more information, visit www.wjsmithfh.com.