LEEDS and SILVER SPRINGS, Fla. – Harry A. Bradbury, 83, a proud career veteran of the Army and Navy service, died Saturday, June 18, 2011, at his home in Leeds, after a lengthy illness. Born April 26, 1928, on a farm in Hermon, he was the son of Charles Albert Bradbury and Rita Norton Bradbury.
Harry grew up in small towns in the Bangor area. He attended Brewer High School, but withdrew after convincing his father to allow him to enlist in the Army, so that he could serve his country during the closing months of World War II. He became a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division and deployed to Germany shortly after the war ended. He was particularly proud of taking part in the Berlin Airlift. It was in Germany that he met his future wife, Inge, and her son, Dieter, from a previous marriage. After a decade of Army service he returned to Maine, where he and Inge were married Feb. 5, 1955, in Orrington. He later adopted her son. Harry worked as a plumber for several years, but civilian life didn’t suit him, and he enlisted in the Navy in the early 1960s and spent another decade in military service as a Seabee. His Navy career included three tours of duty in Vietnam, as well as assignments on the island of Diego Garcia, and in Massachusetts, Florida and Cutler. Harry was an outgoing man who enjoyed meeting new people wherever his duties took him. He was an excellent cook who appreciated preparing meals for family and friends. His vegetable gardens were bountiful, and he had a knack for woodworking, building furniture that can be found in the homes of many family members. After his retirement, he and his wife vacationed frequently in Germany, where he felt very much at home. The couple also enjoyed spending time with their children and grandchildren at their camp on Hadley Lake, East Machias, and later at their winter home in Florida.
Harry was predeceased by a son, Harry A. Bradbury Jr. In addition to his loving wife, Inge, he is survived by three children, Dieter H. Bradbury of Topsham, Susan B. English and her husband, Robert, of Wales, and Larry C. Bradbury and his wife, Karen, of Ocala, Fla.; a sister, Thelma B. Brackett and her husband, Bill, of Augusta; a sister, Rita B. Clair and her husband, Charles, of Holden; six grandchildren, a great-grandson, a great-step-granddaughter, numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, at Wales Presbyterian Church, Route 132, Wales. A private burial service with military honors will be held at Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Augusta.