Roland E. Christy ’70 died on April 4, 2022, in Falmouth, Maine.
(The following was provided by the Maine Sunday Telegram on April 10, 2022)
Roland Everett “Bud” Christy ’70
FALMOUTH – Roland Everett “Bud” Christy died peacefully at home in his favorite chair, his wife beside him, as the sun set on Monday, April 4, 2022. Exactly one month before, he had been diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer. He was 73.
Whether you loved him as “Buddy,” “Dad,” or “Bud” you loved a great man. Bud was intelligent and thoughtful, handsome, and handy. He had an insatiable curiosity and avidly read fiction and history. He delighted in hunting down just the right gifts for those he loved, showing how well he knew and cared about them. Though he might appear gruff, thanks in part to his dry sense of humor, those who knew him well, knew him to be very much the opposite. There was no greater feeling of love and safety than being held in his arms.
Bud was born on June 17, 1948, in Portland to Roland and Marion Christy of Washington Avenue. The oldest of three children, he grew up in North Deering and fondly remembered Sunday night dinners at his grandfather’s house with his siblings and cousins. He graduated from Deering High School in 1966.
Bud graduated from Bowdoin College in 1970. He left Bowdoin with much more than a degree in government; he left with a circle of brothers from Alpha Kappa Sigma, who remained his very best friends until the end. It was a fraternity in the truest sense of the word.
After college, Bud married his high school sweetheart, Susan Dinsmore. They celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary on March 20 of this year, the first day of spring. He was her husband and best friend.
Bud started working at Christy’s Hardware, the family business, as a young man, later becoming its manager and owner. After he sold the store, he ran other small businesses ranging from cat vitamins to ambulance services. Prior to his retirement, he sold specialty hardware at Decorum.
A devoted father, Bud took great pride in his three daughters: strong, independent women to whom he taught lessons about family, friendship, service, and integrity. He gave them the tools to fix or build most anything. He coached Little League, built stage sets, and shopped for dresses. He supported his girls’ dreams, even when they took them far from home, and celebrated their accomplishments large and small.
Buddy was also a beloved grandfather, making toys, joking, and laughing, championing his grandchildren’s interests, and sharing his sense of whimsy, stories, and passions with them. He continued the family tradition of spending time in the summer in Rangeley, teaching his grandchildren how to fish, toast marshmallows, and enjoy the natural world.
Bud was always there when a neighbor was in need and cultivated friendships wherever he went. He left even the most temporary of jobs with a friend. He had friends from high school, friends from his church community in North Deering, friends he played pool with, and friends he golfed with. During the past five years, he developed a winter family in St. Augustine, Fla., where he and Susan enjoyed spending the colder months together.
Bud’s passions included golf, classic cars, country music, and painting. He loved listening to the Red Sox on the radio and sipping a good bourbon. But mostly, he loved his friends and family.
He suffered no fools, disdained fruit in his beer, and never wore a watch or owned a cell phone.
Bud is survived by his wife, Susan Dinsmore Christy; and his three children, Amanda Christy Brown, and her husband, Jeff Brown, of Sherborn, Mass., Emily Christy of Falmouth, and Laura Christy Genese, and her husband, Tom Genese, of Falmouth; his grandchildren Jonah, Lee, and Susannah Brown, and Lilah and Tommy Genese – will remember Buddy’s chuckle, his jokes, his good taste in music, his hugs, and his fondness for root beer floats. Bud is also survived by his sister, Susan Christy King, and her husband, Stephen King of Portland, and his brother, Steven Christy, and his wife, Barbara Christy, of Gray