"A friendly face, a winning smile, and a person always willing to lend a helping hand—that's how we would describe Brad Drawbridge." — Dedication, 2007 Searsmont Town Report

SEARSMONT — Alfred Bradford “Brad” Drawbridge Jr. died peacefully in his sleep on April 4, 2015, after a brief illness. He was 85 years old.

He was born Sept. 26, 1929, in Worcester, Mass., to Lois Porter Drawbridge and Alfred Bradford Drawbridge Sr. He grew up in Holden, Mass., and told the best stories about growing up in that small town — the stories about fishing and hunting with his father; the stories about delivering the mail with his mother during World War II; the multiple "that time I got a concussion and my mother was so worried" stories; the story about the railroad conductor who gave them a real train lantern in exchange for the cookies they passed to workers on the train; and everyone's favorite, the story about how he and his friends pirated a battery and built a secret machine to torture Nazi spies in case Nazi spies invaded Western Massachusetts and how, because of the lack of available spies, they ended up testing the torture device on each other.

Brad left Holden to attend Mount Herman Academy for his junior and senior years of high school. Upon graduation, he followed in his father's footsteps, joining the United States Navy and serving proudly for four years during the Korean War as a radio operator and meteorologist. After his discharge in 1952, he attended the Leland Powers School of Radio, Theater and Television, where he met with the best possible luck in the person of Susan Marion Walker. No one laughed harder at Brad's jokes than Sue, and no one loved him more. They were married Dec. 30, 1955, and remained in love and inseparable until her death on April 9, 2007.

Brad worked at radio stations in Great Barrington and Monterey, Mass., before moving to Naugatuck, Conn., in 1961, where he and Sue raised their children and he worked as a program director and announcer at radio station WOWW. Brad and Sue always loved Maine, and on a whim one spring traveled north to look at a grocery store for sale in the Millville neighborhood of Camden. The store featured sagging floorboards, broken windows and a family of skunks in the crawlspace under the meat room. Not being able to pass up such a good deal, they bought the store and relocated their family in April 1971. Megunticook Corner Market — "Where the River Meets Washington Street" — became the center of a wonderful community of neighbors and friends, a place where you could buy penny candy, pick up a recipe from Sue and a story from Brad, hear the latest news from the guys at the meat counter, and charge your groceries if you were a little short of cash that week.

Brad, Sue and their youngest son, Will, moved from Camden to Searsmont in the mid-1980s. The duo sold the store in 1987, and Brad worked a number of part-time jobs in his semi-retirement. He also served on the Searsmont Planning Board and the Planning Board of Appeals, the Searsmont Library Board of Trustees, the Building Committee for the Library and Community Center and on the Cemetery Committee. He and Sue loved their town and their Muzzy Ridge neighbors.

In fact, Brad loved so many things that it's impossible to list them all here. He loved and was devoted to his family. He loved his dog, Daisy; sailing and reading; ham radio and jazz (that time he interviewed Duke Ellington); building boats and electronics (that time he converted the telephone pole into a gigantic ham radio antenna); and was pretty handy at fixing cars or anything else that needed repair around the house. He had an extraordinary talent for having fun, and once said, "I can't imagine not having something I'm looking forward to doing."

Brad will always be associated with good times and laughter, but he was at his finest during the sad period of his wife's last illness. He cared for Sue with courage and steadfast loving kindness until her death in 2007.

He will be sorely missed by the many who loved him.

Brad was predeceased by his beloved wife, Susan Walker Drawbridge and their infant daughter, Nola. He is survived by his children, Julie Drawbridge, Jennifer Drawbridge and her husband, Michael Kosowsky, Bradford William Drawbridge and William Alfred Drawbridge; and by his grandchildren, Max Lloyd, Molly Lloyd, Nola Kosowsky, Julia Kosowsky, Hannah Drawbridge and Wesley Drawbridge. He also leaves behind his brother, Geoffrey Drawbridge and his wife, Jan, of Naugatuck, Conn.; and his sister, Penelope Andersch of San Diego, Calif.; and an excellent group of cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, all of whom, in Brad's words, added up to fun.

Plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you drink a toast to Brad and Sue (Scotch or a Manhattan preferred) and make a donation to the Friends of the Searsmont Library, P.O. Box 105, Searsmont, ME 04973, or to a local charity of your choice.