Dale A. Brandreth

Hockessin - Dale A. Brandreth, age 87, of Hockessin, DE, passed away on Monday, September 9, at his home. Born in White Marsh, PA, he was the son of the late Glenna (Trumbore) and Herbert Brandreth. Dale graduated with his bachelor of science and master degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto. Dale also served in the Army during the Korean War. While in Toronto, he met and married his wife, Alice James, and they moved to Pittsburgh and later relocated to Delaware. Once in Delaware, Dale worked as a chemical engineer for DuPont for over 15 years. He also taught chemical engineering at Drexel and Widener Universities. Dale was an avid chess book collector, publishing books on chess and even starting his own business called Caissa Editions Book Store, which he owned for over 40 years. In addition to chess, he enjoyed hiking and belonged to several hiking clubs.

Dale is survived by his wife, Alice Brandreth of Hockessin, DE; his daughters and their spouses, Lara and John Williamson of Villanova, PA and Wendy and Scott Duncan of Arlington, VA; his grandchildren, Duncan, Hugh, Reilly, Benjamin, and James; and his sister, Nancy Brainerd of Ohio.

A memorial service will be held at the Mealey Funeral Home, 2509 Limestone Road Wilmington, DE 19808 beginning at 11:30 A.M. on Saturday, September 14th. A reception will follow at the Brandreth home. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to www.worldwildlife.org or www.michaeljfox.org. Online condolences may be made at mealeyfuneralhomes.com.

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Published by The News Journal on Sep. 11, 2019.

Memories and Condolences
for Dale Brandreth

Sponsored by Mealey Funeral Home - Limestone Road.

3 Entries

Joe Ratcliffe

September 11, 2019

Dale was an impressive man with many likable qualities, but what I liked most about him was his down-to-earth nature and excellent sense of humor.

Dale was the quintessential absent-minded professor, off-the-charts smart but sometimes unaware of what was going on in his surroundings--at least with regard to things he didn't find interesting. Once not long after I met him, he invited me on a hike, and it was a challenging one--he didn't warn me about that, probably because he didn't find it particularly difficult. So, for about four hours, it was up and down rocky hills, with him walking ridiculously fast, telling jokes and funny stories, and not noticing how far behind I was or how out of breath. Somehow I managed to get through the hike without him noticing what a hard time I was having. As we were walking back to his car, he said, You know, you didn't do too badly today. Sometimes I don't like to hike with people in their 20s and 30s because I find they are often pretty wimpy. Looking back on it now, I think he may have been testing me that day.

Several years later, Dale and I went hiking in Iceland. One day, we were hiking through a sheep farm and there was this Icelandic Sheep Dog following us. He had boundless energy and was running circles around us and would often leave us and run to the top of a hill and come back down to join us again. Dale liked the dog a lot, probably because the dog was such a good hiker. Dale stopped a number of times to pet the dog, and as sometimes happens with gruff guys Dale showed his soft side and sweet talked the dog profusely. But at one point when we were resting at a river, the dog kept coming up behind Dale and licking the top of his head and running off. This eventually elicited an impressive string of curse words from Dale. "Just a minute ago, you were calling him sweetheart' and baby,'"" I said. He looked at me, and at first appeared very annoyed, but then burst into laughter. He replied, "Well, you see, Joe, that's the difference between being a good dog and being a bad dog!"

Rest in peace, Dale.

JKH/JW

September 11, 2019

My sincerest condolences to the Brandreth Family for the loss of your loved one, Dale, and pray you find comfort in Psalms 91:2.

Kathy Kindness

September 11, 2019

Dale was an original! I met him hiking in 2011 and was amazed by his hiking ability then. Our last hikes together were in 2015, including a wonderful trip to the Adirondaks. Dale also organized trips to the theater and dinner; our eclectic groups always had great conversations and lots of laughs. Thanks for the memories, Dale, and happy trails.

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