Charles B. Brahm

1926 - 2021

Charles B Brahm was the husband of Loretta Anna (Weber) Brahm for 71 years. Charles died peacefully in his home in Vero Beach, FL on Wednesday April 14, 2021. Charles was born on November 22, 1926 in Union, Indiana, the son of Bernard Aloysius Brahm and Katherine Frances (Moll) Brahm. After his marriage to Loretta in 1949, they moved to Connecticut, where they raised their 6 sons in the Town of Ellington. Summers were spent at their home in Chatham, MA. Charles was best known as a brilliant electrical engineer. In 1949, he graduated magna cum laude and received his BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. In 1955, he earned his MS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut, where he also taught graduate classes. He spent his entire career at the United Technologies Corporation (UTC). By 1960 Charles was appointed Engineering Manager over all of UTC subsidiary Hamilton Standard's electronics programs based on his specialized expertise in avionic controls. In 1964, he switched from line management and was named Senior Technical Consultant with a particular focus on expanding UTC's airborne electronic controls for spacecraft. Years later following a program of study at the Wharton School, he was promoted to the position of VP of Business Planning. Charles became a leader in the electronic avionics control field and received more than three dozen patents, as well as numerous awards for his work. He served as a Special Advisor to UTC Chairman Harry Gray on semiconductor industry trends and technologies, and for many years chaired the UTC Semiconductor Steering Committee. He also earned national recognition in the aerospace industry and served as a member of the Apollo Program Senior Board of Review. F. Story Musgrave, one of the U.S.'s most accomplished astronauts, once credited Charles with contributing essential spacesuit controls technology without which Musgrave could not have succeeded in his December 1993 spacewalk to repair the marred vision of the Hubble Space Telescope: "To Charles Brahm with best wishes, admiration, and many thanks for making this happen." Charles was intellectually curious, enjoyed travel, and with his wife visited many distant countries. Community was important to Charles; he was involved in local politics, was an active member of St. Luke's Church, and for years helped coach both his own children and their peers on various sports teams. Charles kept active in his retirement years. He assisted aspiring entrepreneurs by volunteering at the Service Core of Retired Executives. His family fondly recalls his penchant for studying electronics magazines in his spare time and tinkering with ideas in his basement workshop, engrossed in projects such as growing crystals and tearing apart and reconfiguring TVs, radios, and other electronic gadgets. In his later years he developed an interest in woodworking. He was an avid birdwatcher and enjoyed photographing them in the wild and at the backyard feeders, where he was in a perpetual battle with the squirrels. Charles enjoyed friendly competition whether it was croquet, pitching washers, board games or cards. However, he never met a game he didn't think he could improve. House Rules at the Brahms' always had some little peculiarities that helped keep everyone amused and entertained, not an easy feat. He had a sense of humor to the end and his presence will be sorely missed. Charles was predeceased by his son John Edward Brahm, by his brother Richard Vincent Brahm and by his sister Mary Ann (Brahm) Schultheis. In addition to his wife Loretta, Charles is survived by his 5 sons: David and his wife Anita, of Vero Beach, FL; Daniel and his wife Jenny of Canton, GA; Richard and his wife Samantha Ravich of Kilmarnock, VA; Roger Eric of San Juan, Puerto Rico and Lawrence of Manchester, CT. He leaves one surviving sister, Katherine (Brahm) Fuchs of Evansville, IN. Charles leaves his grandchildren; David's children, Michelle Brahm and Heather Brahm Loftiss and her husband Matthew and their two children Ian and Zoe. Daniel's children, Heather and Jim Jackson and their son Chester; and Colin Williams and his wife Kim and their children Hannah, Trenten, Collin and Etta. Richard's children, Isabella Ravich Brahm and India Ravich Brahm. He also leaves several nieces and nephews. Due to COVID 19, there will be no services at this time. The Brahm family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Charles' name to the Nature Conservancy at https://www.nature.org or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (https://www.nationalmssociety.org).