Rodney Dale Brackett

Rodney Dale Brackett 1945-2024 SANFORD—Rodney D. Brackett, 79, of Sanford, Maine went home to be with his Lord on Friday June 7, 2024. Rodney was born in Farmington, Maine, January 17, 1945, the son of Switzer and Geneva (Guptill) Brackett. He spent his early years in Rangely, Maine, moving to Sanford, but returning often to visit his beloved grandparents Roderick and Agnes Brackett. In later years Rod and Diane purchased a house there. Rodney’s adolescence and adult life were lived in Sanford, Maine. He was a graduate of Sanford High School and played basketball and football. There he developed a special life-long friendship with his best friend Jerome Bshara. Rod went on to have a successful career in car sales. Among many of the roles Rodney held during his life, his fondest were that of the Assistant Call Fire Chief of the Sanford Fire Department, serving as Deacon at The First Baptist Church on Main Street, and working at Arundel Ford. His proudest roles, however, were that of husband, father, and grandfather. Rodney loved his wife Diane deeply. They traveled often, a couple of their favorites were Canada and the Dominican Republic. Rod and Diane also enjoyed watching women’s basketball (“Go UCONN”), eating ice-cream for Sunday dinner, visiting family, gardening, and praying together. Rod was an adoring father and grandfather. While his kids were young, he arranged for them to ride on the fire trucks for parades, hosted homecoming “neighborhood take overs,” high school team spaghetti suppers, and endless pool parties. He opened his heart and loved his stepson, John and his son and daughter in-laws like they were his own. He walked his daughters proudly down wedding isles. He rocked colicky grandchildren, struggled through reading renditions of Twas the Night before Christmas, and was always willing to babysit and spend time with his grandkids. He had the pool heater cranked for his grand daughter Jordan’s visits. The grill consistently served “hockey puck burgers” and burnt hot dogs. He helped run his 14-year-old grandson Mason’s summer mowing business, taught his children and grandchildren how to parallel park, except for Amy, not for a lack of training. He was always there to navigate and comfort both grandchildren and their parents through their daily lives. Rodney had a unique way of making all of his kids and grandkids feel, like they were his “favorite,” and they all were. Rodney leaves behind a legacy of love for his family and the community in which he lived. He was extremely hard working, his moral compass strong, well grounded, and possessed a seemingly endless amount of non-judgmental support and advice for his family, friends, and the causes he believed in. His take-charge character afforded him many personal and professional accomplishments for not only himself, but those lucky enough to be surrounded by him. He was a “General Contractor” of sorts. His mind was entrepreneurial and organized. “No” was not in his vocabulary. If he couldn’t get it done himself, he surely knew who could. His network was broad, and his alliances and friendships ran deep. He was the person to help organize class reunions, take on many improvement projects for the church building, take the dance floor over at weddings and events, mowed his lawn which gave him great joy, and sell you a car, even if it was from his hospital bed. Rodney will be deeply missed by many. He will be remembered as a man of faith, loving, impatient at times, eternally optimistic, loyal, kind, ingenuitive, resilient, and tremendously generous of spirit. Rodney is survived by his wife, Diane (Morissette) Brackett; his children, Ann Thayer and her husband Richard of Sanford, John Kieffer of Sanford, Amy McEwen and her husband Shawn of Kennebunk and Jonathan Brackett and his wife Dawn of Sanford; his siblings, Rev. Dr. Linwood Welch and his wife CeCe of Rockland, Carol Ann Bartlett and her husband Paul of Hudson, NH, Alvin Brackett and his wife Susan of Sanford and Wade Brackett and his wife Sharon of Sanford; his grandchildren, Trevor Thayer, Maggie, Abby and William McEwen, Sydney and Mason Brackett, Lucas and Liam Tufts and Jordan Kieffer as well as many nieces and nephews. His long-time friends Jerome Bshara, Lawrence Furbush, Richard Ricker, Perley Yeaton and many many others. Visiting hours will be at the Carll-Heald and Black Funeral Home, 580 Main Street, Springvale on Wednesday June 12 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. A funeral service will be held at the Sanford First Baptist Church on Thursday June 13 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Rodney's name to the Sanford First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 250, Sanford, ME, 04073.