By 
By Ross Moyo
“My kids called him Uncle Ambo,” Rebecca Zeigler Mano said, laughing through tears at Hoyle Field yesterday.The USAP Community School founder was among dozens who gathered to celebrate Amb. D. Bruce Wharton, U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe 2012-2015.
The nickname stuck because he was family-adjacent. Zeigler Mano recalled calling him when the Embassy house was not cleaned on arrival: “We swept a little bit, we had tea… My kids asked, do we call you Uncle Ambassador Bruce or Ambassador Uncle Bruce?”
He was also ‘boss’ and ‘mentor’ for 26 years. Zeigler Mano said Wharton was her PAO boss, then Ambassador boss, and her mentor. When she threatened to quit over “entitled, rich, elite” education clients, he told her to build for “the best and brightest kids” instead. She did.
He made Embassy staff feel seen. Chloe Clark for Locally Employed Staff said he hosted 10-person teas on Wednesdays to learn their lives. He supported the “Obama Boys” soccer team, attended matches, and ate with staff. “He brought back… a pair of shoes for someone’s mother.”
He backed women and civil society deliberately. Farayi Mangwende said the Women’s Development Dialogue started at his residence in 2014-2015, bringing together health, finance, security, and rights leaders. Jestina Mukoko said he facilitated Embassy funding for ZPP’s human rights monitoring.
He showed up for creatives and media. Comedian Carl Joshua Ncube said Wharton took him on bike tours and made him a “Tourism Ambassador.” Vincent Kahiya said Wharton supported the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) and journalist leadership training, and accepted protest without anger in 2013.
He was an ‘Adventure Kid’ off-duty. Friend Richard Beattie recounted horse rides, fishing, and a laundromat taxi negotiation in the U.S. Julie Wharton thanked Zimbabweans “for riding motorcycles with him… teaching him rugby.”
The community is institutionalizing the memory. Ambassador Pamela Tremont rededicated the field as ‘Wharton Field’. Organisers launched the Bruce Wharton Memorial Scholarship Fund, now over US$20,000, and a memorial grove at USAP.
“Let your life speak,” Zeigler Mano said, quoting a proverb. From ‘Uncle Ambo’ to Wharton Field, speakers said Zimbabwe will remember him by the networks, students, journalists, and staff who continue the work he started.
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