John (Jack) Herbert Bradbury

On Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, John (Jack) Herbert Bradbury, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of natural causes at the age of 73.

He was predeceased by his parents and is survived by his loving wife of 41 years, Lana (Nelson) Bradbury; two daughters, Christine O’Sullivan and Cyndi Lohrer; a stepdaughter, Aimee Donofrio; two stepsons, Reed Sandberg and Roy Sandberg; and a brother, Donald Bradbury.

Jack was born on Aug. 27, 1946, in Boston, Mass., to Freeman E. Bradbury and Madolyn E. (Crory) Bradbury. Jack grew up in Needham, Mass., and graduated in 1964 from Needham High School. Although Jack grew up in Massachusetts, the family had strong ties in Maine because both Madolyn and Freeman were from Maine. They came to Massachusetts during the Depression to find work. Aunts, uncles and grandparents were still in Maine and were visited often. The Bradbury family has deep roots in Maine going back many generations to 1634, when Thomas Bradbury came to York from England to start a long line of descendants, of which Jack is one.

Jack excelled in athletics including baseball, gymnastics, golf and tennis. After high school, Jack went to U. Mass and competed on their varsity gymnastics team. He graduated with a BS degree in geology and worked as a geological engineer in New Mexico and later in Salem, Mo., but he still had a strong desire to return to the Maine coast and he dreamed of someday becoming a lobster fisherman. In 1981, if finally happened. He packed up his family and went to Maine to follow his dream. Initially, he worked as a sternman on another fisherman’s boat as an apprentice. He soon got his own boat and fished continuously for the next 38 years. He docked his boat in Portland for most of those years and lived in Westbrook and later in South Portland.

Jack had a sideline. He bought a sawmill and milled logs into furniture-grade lumber. Finding premium logs to mill was almost as much fun as chasing lobsters. He traveled all over the state and as far south as Massachusetts in his pursuit of premium logs. He sold the lumber to furniture and cabinet makers and kept some of the wood for his own projects, which will be cherished by his family for generations. And Jack had a fondness for dogs. In addition to having several of his own dogs, he was hard pressed to pass by a strange dog without introducing himself and making a new friend.

In his later years, Jack and Lana bought a second home in Arizona. They enjoyed spending some winter months there and especially enjoyed visiting their children and grandchildren in Missouri and California while they were in the West.

Jack, also known as “Lobster Jack,” will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. He was one of a kind and will never be forgotten.

A memorial service will be held in Corea on May 30, 2020.

See also this obituary notice.