William Perry Brandt
William "Bill" Perry Brandt, age 63, of Groton, died unexpectedly of heart failure on Wednesday, October 28, 2015.
Bill was beloved. He was the husband, companion and friend of Ellen Nordahl Brandt of Groton. He was the father of Nick Brandt (34, Ames, IA), Melinda Brandt (31, Watertown), Keaton Brandt (21) and Milo Brandt (19) of Groton, and the grandfather of Brixton Brandt (7, Watertown). He was the brother of Willy Mathisen (Daphne, AL) and Tim Brandt (Boulder, CO), the brother-in-law of Dave Mathisen and Cathie Brandt and John Nordahl (Las Vegas, NV) and the son-in-law of Lucy and Jack Nordahl (Bethel, ME). He was the dear friend and partner at AdventuRides of Carole Greenfield. He will be loved and missed by his family, friends, former colleagues, and by all whose lives he touched.
Bill was born on August 12, 1952, in Des Moines, IA, to Hank and Mary Brandt. He was an inventor, tinkerer, and builder all his life, earning the first of his five patents at age 17. He built himself a dune buggy while attending college at Iowa State University. When Bill and his first wife, Mary, moved to Minnesota, he built a cabin in northern Minnesota and an addition to their house in Eden Prairie. In 1986 Bill moved to Massachusetts, where he worked in high tech for 12 years at Apollo Computer, Stratus Computer, BBN, and LightStream. He earned another four patents, some of which are still in use today.
At the end of 2003, Bill left the world of high technology to work with his hands, building and customizing human-powered vehicles and non-traditional bicycles. In early 2004 Bill and Carole Greenfield founded AdventuRides, a local bicycle touring company. Bill ("Fearless Leader") planned the routes and learned the history of the each place the group visited. He became an excellent tour guide, remembering facts and stories and almost never getting lost.
Bill adored working on projects with his sons Keaton and Milo. He supported their craziest ideas and did all he could to help make them a reality. They loved to buy things in order to take them apart and figure out how to make them work differently or better or to use the parts in different gadgets. When Keaton was in middle school, Bill helped him turn his bedroom into a green screen recording studio. When Milo decided to build a pipe organ for his senior project, Bill was his enthusiastic assistant.
Bill was shy but in the bravest way. He decided that he should learn to do some of the things he most dreaded, so he would browse the Cambridge Adult Ed catalogue and pick out the most unlikely and uncomfortable classes and then actually take them. He took modern dance, singing lessons, improv, and acting--and ended up making friends with fellow students and having a lot of fun.
Bill was passionate about the outdoors and loved to bicycle, hike, ski, snowshoe, and kayak. He and Ellen recently purchased property in Bar Harbor, Maine, their favorite place in the world. Bill built furniture for the cottage and was designing an energy-efficient, year-round residence on the property, where they hoped to grow old together.
A celebration of Bill's life was held on Saturday, October 31, at First Parish Church of Groton.
Memorial donations may be made in Bill's honor to one of his favorite local charities, Bikes not Bombs, online at www.bikesnotbombs.org or by check to Erica Rotman, Director of Fundraising, Bikes not Bombs, 284 Amory St. Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.
