RICHARD HOYT BRAKEWOOD 1933-2022 Richard Hoyt Brakewood died peacefully April 16, 2022, in Belfast, Maine with family by his side. He was born February 1, 1933, in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Harold Eugene and Julia Frances (Hoyt) Brakewood. His father was a chemist and his mother, a native Mainer, was a schoolteacher and library professional. Both parents graduated from Colby College. He grew up in Woodbridge, Connecticut under the care of his parents and maternal grandfather Fred "Dar" Hoyt. His family vacationed on Damariscotta Lake every year which began a lifelong passion of swimming in fresh water. He attended local public schools including Hillhouse High School where the gym teacher recognized his athletic potential and sent young Richard to see the football coach. Richard excelled on the football field as a large, powerful lineman and his teams played their home games at the Yale Bowl in front of crowds up to 40,000. He excelled in the classroom and received a football scholarship to the University of Colorado where he played three seasons graduating with dual degrees in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration. It was in Boulder that he met Jean Ann Welsh, a Colorado classmate and physical education major, during a job in the school's cafeteria. They wed June 12, 1954, in her hometown of Rockford, Illinois and were married 67 years. After graduating from Colorado, he pursued a career in electrical engineering starting with General Electric. Early in his career they lived in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, and Nebraska. After brief assignments in the Ascension Islands and Germany, he got a chance to work for RCA setting up an early satellite tracking station in South Africa. Much to the concern of their parents, the young family – by now consisting of three kids – set off in 1962 for a three-year assignment in Pretoria, followed by a year in Trinidad. While overseas they spent a month traveling through the National Parks of Africa and several weeks in Europe. The longest lasting souvenir the couple brought back from overseas was their fourth child. Jean often said they lived out of a suitcase in those years. In 1965 Richard and Jean bought a homestead in Lincolnville, Maine while living in Trinidad and began to put down roots. A year later he left the radar facility in Greenland, resigned from engineering, and rejoined his family in Lincolnville. With the arrival of two more kids, they cultivated the land for the next decade into a nearly self-sufficient farm cutting firewood by hand, raising animals and crops, and maintaining a minimalist lifestyle. He operated a rug cleaning service and was a substitute teacher in local schools. Always a hearty athlete, one year he took his daily swim then ice skated later the same week. In 1976 with the oldest kids leaving the farm, he became a truck driver for North American Van Lines traveling all over the United States, and subsequently, an independent driver and contractor for Coles Express until parking the rig for good in the mid 1990s. His wife held down the farm and family while he was away from home. In retirement on the farm, he enjoyed swimming in the pond, taking "look around" walks with his son Peter, gardening, making trails, cutting firewood, maintaining fields and fruit trees, tending chickens, bee keeping, listening to the Red Sox on radio, watching the nightly news, holding court at the kitchen table with family, tinkering with his tools, and enjoying his wife's wonderful homecooked meals. He rarely drove a car and was content to spend long stints on the farm traveling by ATV or snowmobile. He returned to the farm on April 5, 2022, for one last "look around" and time with family on a glorious spring day. He is survived by his wife Jean, son Richard and fiancé Amy of Atlanta, son James and wife Helen of Connecticut, daughter Patricia Tilden and husband Bill of Islesboro, son Harold ("E.B.") and wife Kelly of New Jersey, son Daniel and wife Carolee of New York, and son Peter Darson of Lincolnville as well as ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his father and mother, younger brother Robert, and infant sister Ann. A private burial is planned in Fairfield, Maine. Arrangements are in the care of Lawry Brothers Funeral Home, 107 Main St., Fairfield where memories may be shared, and an online register book signed by visiting www.lawrybrothers.com. Click this link to view additional details about Richard's Services, including any available live streams: https://my.gather.app/remember/richard-brakewood