William Bradford Dow

1930 - 2022

William Bradford Dow
April 7, 1930 - June 8, 2022
Carmel-by-the-Sea
On the anniversary of his death, the Dow clan is remembering with great affection their patriarch Brad Dow, fondly called Grumpy, who left us peacefully, surrounded by loving family on June 8, 2022 at the age of 92.
He lived his life as he left this life, (as Sinatra says) "I did it my way".
An easterner by birth, a westerner by choice, Brad grew in in New York City and was living in Tuxedo Park when, due to a divorce, he moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1968. He never left. He said he found a place where he could play golf year round.
Living at Tahoe at the time, he drove to Pebble Beach while scouting out a place to live, and played a round of golf. Someone advised him to spend the night at the Pine Inn in Carmel. He left Pebble Beach, drove through the gate, started up the hill and said to himself "where has this place been all my life?".
The logistics of managing the sharing of five children didn't seem to faze him at all (well, maybe a little bit!). The first year he took the three oldest (Brad Jr., Cindy and Holly), then later decided he might do better with the three boys (Brad Jr., Christopher and Geoffrey).
The stories of those early years are hysterical, as the bachelor father had to furnish a home and learn to cook, among other things. Slowly the kids decided that they preferred life in Carmel with their Dad, as opposed to Oregon, and eventually they congregated under one roof and all graduated from local schools and went on to college.
Brad also had to find a new career, having last worked on the floor of the N.Y. Stock Exchange, so he proceeded to get a real estate broker's license as well as a contractor's license. He built and remolded many homes in Carmel over the years, moving the family many, many times. The story of how many times they moved the pool table is legendary After 17 years of being single, Brad met Hallie Mitchell, who grew up in Piedmont but moved to Carmel to join her family real estate business.
The two married in short order, and Hallie took over the job of helping to raise the almost grown family. It was a little chaotic but lots of fun, and everyone bonded almost immediately. The family reunions, of which there are many, combine 30 very loud people of all ages, which includes three new spouses and three great-grandchildren to date. So far (35+ years later) no one has gotten hurt and everyone gets along magnificently. It's amazing.
Brad was entrepreneurial, thoughtful, kind, charismatic, generous, hysterically funny (the king of the one liners) and truly well loved around town. He was recognizable instantly driving his Bentley Continental G. T. with the personalized plate "LAUGH".
He was an accomplished golfer and loved the game of bridge. He was a silver life master with 1300 points in the ACBL Monterey Bridge Club. When his youngest son Geoffrey died of diabetes when he was only 35, Brad looked for a way to console himself and pour himself into a project. He decided to find a new, more accommodating spot for the bridge club to play. He found a dilapidated army barrack at Fort Ord, bought it for $100 (not including the land), remodeled it on his dime to include a full kitchen, two bathrooms and a working fireplace. It had lots of parking and even an ocean view. That kept them all playing for 17 years, and every year after it opened the club held a "Brad Dow appreciation day".
For years Brad made homemade peanut butter and organic berry freezer jam. Labels identified it as "Grumpy's peanut butter" or "Grumpy's organic jam". He gave it out freely and used it for trades at the Farmers Market. It was delicious and everyone loved it.
Brad was first and foremost a family man, who adored his kids and wife beyond reason. He left behind a thriving family who, across the board, holds him up as an example of what kind of person each wants to be. He was truly our hero. We love you and miss you Grumpy.