|Obituary from Chandler Funeral Home|
Bradford Loren Slye, age 70, passed away unexpectedly at home in New Gloucester on May 14, 2023. He was a loving husband and father who will be missed by many.
Brad was a well respected member of the Gray-New Gloucester community and he loved being a part of it, supporting local businesses, events, and fundraisers. He was one of the kindest people you would ever meet, always making friends easily and accepting of all.
Brad couldn’t go anywhere in town without running into someone he knew at the grocery or the hardware store. Brad loved all of the local restaurants and always tried to get one of the first Lonni Dogs of the season.
Brad had many career accomplishments, but he was most proud of being a husband to Pamela and a father to Katherine. He married Pamela in 1980, and they had 43 wonderful years of adventures. They moved around a lot as Brad’s career advanced, but that lead to some awesome experiences they shared like attending the 1984 Olympic Games in LA and the Talladega 500 in Atlanta. Brad was a loving husband, always there for Pamela and showing her daily just how much he cared whether with a note or flowers “just because.”
No matter what his daughter Katherine did, Brad was always there cheering her on and helping any way he could. He built a pitching door for her when she played town softball and always did new things with her like launch rockets. He loved their annual Katherine-Daddy Days where they would do things like spend the whole day together at Funtown-Splashtown or playing mini golf across Maine and New Hampshire.
Brad was a proud graduate of Northland High School in Columbus, OH (‘71) and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY (‘74). He studied abroad in Bergen, Norway, and spent over a decade working as an Executive Chef across the country for the Sheraton Hotel.
Brad and his family moved to Maine when he became the Executive Chef at Bates College in 1993. While at Bates, he won Maine Chef of the Year in 1997 from the Maine Chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF). He also won the ACF Directors Award in 1998 and 2001.
Brad continued his culinary career over the next 30 years teaching baking at the Bangor Job Corp, serving as the Executive Chef at the Cohen Center in Augusta, the South Portland Macaroni Grill, and York Hospital. For the last decade, Brad and his wife Pamela owned and operated Goody’s Pizzeria in Gray.
Brad was a member of the Masons, Cumberland Lodge #12 in New Gloucester and the Kora Shrine in Lewiston. He loved to fish and hunt and was a talented woodworker. He was an avid numismatist (coin collector) and loved collecting coins, especially wheat pennies, and always loved when friends and family would bring him one they found in their change.
Brad is preceded by his mother Elsa Slye, his father Lewis Slye, his brother Douglas Slye, and his father-in-law Richard Martin. He is survived by his wife Pamela Slye, his daughter Katherine and her husband Michael Hernandez, his mother-in-law Beverly Martin, his brother-in-law Robert Griffin and his wife Gerry, and his niece and nephew Abbey and Ethan Griffin and his wife Sam.
A celebration of life will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family asks that you please make a donation to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, to support the culinary dreams and careers of future chefs (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/898/17/interior.aspx?sid=898&gid=1&pgid=466&cid=1266).
Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 8 Elm Street, Bridgton. Online condolences may be shared with his family at www.chandlerfunerals.com
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