Known for his whimsically, philosophical, snippets, notably 'Life is a compromise,' the writer, photographer, and artist, Brad Smith forged an exemplary life of self-betterment, nurturing an admiration, and love of humanity, that spanned 82 years. Nowhere was that love more focused then on his children, and his wife.
Born Henry Russell Bradley Smith in Flushing, New York, Brad (also known affectionately as 'Mad Brad') spent his youth teasing his beloved sister, Kiki. He graduated from Rye High School in 1940, which included a brief stint at the New York Military Academy, an institution he loathed, and continuously ran away from.
In 1942 Brad compromised his dread of military school, and joined the U.S.M.C., serving in the Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
After a brief illness with polio, the WWII vet attempted to rejoin the Marine Corp. 'I wanted to see if I could pass their rigorous physical.' He failed - because of poor eye sight. 'So I spent the next month in the dark drinking carrot juice. And then I passed the physical.' He served another two years, attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
He married Rita Mae Hines, of Boston, on February 5, 1956. By 1964 the loving couple had produced five sons.
From 1958 to 1972, Brad held an executive office at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, where he wrote extensively on folk art, and tools, most notably, his 1966 book, Blacksmiths' and Farriers' Tools.
At Brad's invitation, Lord Shelburne, of England, visited the name-sake museum. In 1963 Brad and his wife Rita then introduced Lord Shelburne to President John F. Kennedy.
A graduate of Bowdoin College, class of '50, Brad, also, attended the Yale School of Fine Arts, and the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. During the 1950's his skills in the arts positioned him as a commercial photographer with Fay Photo, Perry Products and Ski Magazine.
In 1972 Brad became the Curator of Arts and Ives at The Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA, where he wrote extensively on Americana until he left that Cape Cod museum in 1977.
The love of Brad's life wasn't the arts, however. It was being a father, an obligation he adored, and never abandoned. He cherished the close contact he secured with his children, even when they grew into adulthood, often traveling with any number of them. He journeyed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, the Soviet Union, and Asia, including his favored China.
He developed a love of this world that he recorded in journals, with thousands of photographs, and later, with drawings, and paintings. Brad's every trek, also, moved him inward. 'I believe each individual should govern his conduct unselfishly,' he wrote his five sons. 'Always trying his utmost to perfect himself for his benefit in order to better enrich his life and those of his time.'
A leg injury partially hampered Brad's mobility later in life. Remaining true to his philosophy that life is a compromise, the 6-year Marine chose to endure the physical hardship of his three-story Peaks Island house over the convenience of living somewhere else. 'Not even the Good Lord could convince me to leave,' Brad said, referring to his beloved house that his son Harvey built.
Apparently the Good Lord agreed, sending in His place a few angels to do the job on July 6th.
Brad is survived by his wife, Rita, his brother Perry Edward Hall Smith; his five sons, Grosvenor, Kevin, Harvey, Adam, and Jaime, and five grandchildren; six nieces, Paula, Pamela, Margo, Nancy, Betsy, and Kari, and their 21 children, and grandchildren.
Interment at Mount Hope Cemetery, in Bangor.
Born Henry Russell Bradley Smith in Flushing, New York, Brad (also known affectionately as 'Mad Brad') spent his youth teasing his beloved sister, Kiki. He graduated from Rye High School in 1940, which included a brief stint at the New York Military Academy, an institution he loathed, and continuously ran away from.
In 1942 Brad compromised his dread of military school, and joined the U.S.M.C., serving in the Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
After a brief illness with polio, the WWII vet attempted to rejoin the Marine Corp. 'I wanted to see if I could pass their rigorous physical.' He failed - because of poor eye sight. 'So I spent the next month in the dark drinking carrot juice. And then I passed the physical.' He served another two years, attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
He married Rita Mae Hines, of Boston, on February 5, 1956. By 1964 the loving couple had produced five sons.
From 1958 to 1972, Brad held an executive office at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, where he wrote extensively on folk art, and tools, most notably, his 1966 book, Blacksmiths' and Farriers' Tools.
At Brad's invitation, Lord Shelburne, of England, visited the name-sake museum. In 1963 Brad and his wife Rita then introduced Lord Shelburne to President John F. Kennedy.
A graduate of Bowdoin College, class of '50, Brad, also, attended the Yale School of Fine Arts, and the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. During the 1950's his skills in the arts positioned him as a commercial photographer with Fay Photo, Perry Products and Ski Magazine.
In 1972 Brad became the Curator of Arts and Ives at The Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA, where he wrote extensively on Americana until he left that Cape Cod museum in 1977.
The love of Brad's life wasn't the arts, however. It was being a father, an obligation he adored, and never abandoned. He cherished the close contact he secured with his children, even when they grew into adulthood, often traveling with any number of them. He journeyed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, the Soviet Union, and Asia, including his favored China.
He developed a love of this world that he recorded in journals, with thousands of photographs, and later, with drawings, and paintings. Brad's every trek, also, moved him inward. 'I believe each individual should govern his conduct unselfishly,' he wrote his five sons. 'Always trying his utmost to perfect himself for his benefit in order to better enrich his life and those of his time.'
A leg injury partially hampered Brad's mobility later in life. Remaining true to his philosophy that life is a compromise, the 6-year Marine chose to endure the physical hardship of his three-story Peaks Island house over the convenience of living somewhere else. 'Not even the Good Lord could convince me to leave,' Brad said, referring to his beloved house that his son Harvey built.
Apparently the Good Lord agreed, sending in His place a few angels to do the job on July 6th.
Brad is survived by his wife, Rita, his brother Perry Edward Hall Smith; his five sons, Grosvenor, Kevin, Harvey, Adam, and Jaime, and five grandchildren; six nieces, Paula, Pamela, Margo, Nancy, Betsy, and Kari, and their 21 children, and grandchildren.
Interment at Mount Hope Cemetery, in Bangor.
Known for his whimsically, philosophical, snippets, notably 'Life is a compromise,' the writer, photographer, and artist, Brad Smith forged an exemplary life of self-betterment, nurturing an admiration, and love of humanity, that spanned 82 years. Nowhere was that love more focused then on his children, and his wife.
Born Henry Russell Bradley Smith in Flushing, New York, Brad (also known affectionately as 'Mad Brad') spent his youth teasing his beloved sister, Kiki. He graduated from Rye High School in 1940, which included a brief stint at the New York Military Academy, an institution he loathed, and continuously ran away from.
In 1942 Brad compromised his dread of military school, and joined the U.S.M.C., serving in the Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
After a brief illness with polio, the WWII vet attempted to rejoin the Marine Corp. 'I wanted to see if I could pass their rigorous physical.' He failed - because of poor eye sight. 'So I spent the next month in the dark drinking carrot juice. And then I passed the physical.' He served another two years, attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
He married Rita Mae Hines, of Boston, on February 5, 1956. By 1964 the loving couple had produced five sons.
From 1958 to 1972, Brad held an executive office at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, where he wrote extensively on folk art, and tools, most notably, his 1966 book, Blacksmiths' and Farriers' Tools.
At Brad's invitation, Lord Shelburne, of England, visited the name-sake museum. In 1963 Brad and his wife Rita then introduced Lord Shelburne to President John F. Kennedy.
A graduate of Bowdoin College, class of '50, Brad, also, attended the Yale School of Fine Arts, and the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. During the 1950's his skills in the arts positioned him as a commercial photographer with Fay Photo, Perry Products and Ski Magazine.
In 1972 Brad became the Curator of Arts and Ives at The Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA, where he wrote extensively on Americana until he left that Cape Cod museum in 1977.
The love of Brad's life wasn't the arts, however. It was being a father, an obligation he adored, and never abandoned. He cherished the close contact he secured with his children, even when they grew into adulthood, often traveling with any number of them. He journeyed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, the Soviet Union, and Asia, including his favored China.
He developed a love of this world that he recorded in journals, with thousands of photographs, and later, with drawings, and paintings. Brad's every trek, also, moved him inward. 'I believe each individual should govern his conduct unselfishly,' he wrote his five sons. 'Always trying his utmost to perfect himself for his benefit in order to better enrich his life and those of his time.'
A leg injury partially hampered Brad's mobility later in life. Remaining true to his philosophy that life is a compromise, the 6-year Marine chose to endure the physical hardship of his three-story Peaks Island house over the convenience of living somewhere else. 'Not even the Good Lord could convince me to leave,' Brad said, referring to his beloved house that his son Harvey built.
Apparently the Good Lord agreed, sending in His place a few angels to do the job on July 6th.
Brad is survived by his wife, Rita, his brother Perry Edward Hall Smith; his five sons, Grosvenor, Kevin, Harvey, Adam, and Jaime, and five grandchildren; six nieces, Paula, Pamela, Margo, Nancy, Betsy, and Kari, and their 21 children, and grandchildren.
Interment at Mount Hope Cemetery, in Bangor.
Born Henry Russell Bradley Smith in Flushing, New York, Brad (also known affectionately as 'Mad Brad') spent his youth teasing his beloved sister, Kiki. He graduated from Rye High School in 1940, which included a brief stint at the New York Military Academy, an institution he loathed, and continuously ran away from.
In 1942 Brad compromised his dread of military school, and joined the U.S.M.C., serving in the Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
After a brief illness with polio, the WWII vet attempted to rejoin the Marine Corp. 'I wanted to see if I could pass their rigorous physical.' He failed - because of poor eye sight. 'So I spent the next month in the dark drinking carrot juice. And then I passed the physical.' He served another two years, attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
He married Rita Mae Hines, of Boston, on February 5, 1956. By 1964 the loving couple had produced five sons.
From 1958 to 1972, Brad held an executive office at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, where he wrote extensively on folk art, and tools, most notably, his 1966 book, Blacksmiths' and Farriers' Tools.
At Brad's invitation, Lord Shelburne, of England, visited the name-sake museum. In 1963 Brad and his wife Rita then introduced Lord Shelburne to President John F. Kennedy.
A graduate of Bowdoin College, class of '50, Brad, also, attended the Yale School of Fine Arts, and the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. During the 1950's his skills in the arts positioned him as a commercial photographer with Fay Photo, Perry Products and Ski Magazine.
In 1972 Brad became the Curator of Arts and Ives at The Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, MA, where he wrote extensively on Americana until he left that Cape Cod museum in 1977.
The love of Brad's life wasn't the arts, however. It was being a father, an obligation he adored, and never abandoned. He cherished the close contact he secured with his children, even when they grew into adulthood, often traveling with any number of them. He journeyed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, the Soviet Union, and Asia, including his favored China.
He developed a love of this world that he recorded in journals, with thousands of photographs, and later, with drawings, and paintings. Brad's every trek, also, moved him inward. 'I believe each individual should govern his conduct unselfishly,' he wrote his five sons. 'Always trying his utmost to perfect himself for his benefit in order to better enrich his life and those of his time.'
A leg injury partially hampered Brad's mobility later in life. Remaining true to his philosophy that life is a compromise, the 6-year Marine chose to endure the physical hardship of his three-story Peaks Island house over the convenience of living somewhere else. 'Not even the Good Lord could convince me to leave,' Brad said, referring to his beloved house that his son Harvey built.
Apparently the Good Lord agreed, sending in His place a few angels to do the job on July 6th.
Brad is survived by his wife, Rita, his brother Perry Edward Hall Smith; his five sons, Grosvenor, Kevin, Harvey, Adam, and Jaime, and five grandchildren; six nieces, Paula, Pamela, Margo, Nancy, Betsy, and Kari, and their 21 children, and grandchildren.
Interment at Mount Hope Cemetery, in Bangor.
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