Robert Bretton “Bret” Carr
Robert Bretton “Bret” Carr (born October 4, 1954) of Bourne, MA and Durham, NC passed away tragically as a result of a car accident on January 25, 2022. He leaves behind his sister, brother, four children, eight grandchildren and three step-grandchildren. Bret was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and had many beloved residencies such as Newport Beach, CA and Bethlehem, CT. He lived most of his life with his family in and around Boston, MA. Bret was a Mechanical Engineer through and through, receiving education from Northeastern University and Boston University. He holds numerous patents and contributed his expertise to many prestigious companies including Sanborn and Instron before starting several of his own engineering design and consulting companies including the latest, Celeros Separations. Bret loved his family, his church, his work, travel and the sea. He will be fondly remembered at the helm of his beloved sailboat a Cal 20, bouncing around Casco Bay, Maine. Bret will be mourned privately by his family.
Share
Let the family know you care by sharing this tribute.
My sincere condolences to this extremely shocking news!
Brett was, indeed, a man of integrity, knowledge, wisdom, appreciating and loving life through his family and activities. He will definitely be missed.
I knew him in Bethlehem, CT. My older brother was in his class!
Prayers are flowing for the family and friends.
I
Dear Abby , we wish you and your family our condolences.
Love Louis and Kristin Propp
I’m sorry to hear about Brett’s passing.
I remember him well as a classmate of mine in Bethlehem. My thoughts and prayers to is family.
Very sad to hear the passing of a great classmate and all around good fellow. His memory is deep in me…so sorry for family and friends
I’m so very sorry to hear this sad news. Brett and I were best friends in junior high and high school. We used to set up our telescopes in his bedroom where he had a picture window and we would star gaze late into the night. Then we’d sneak down to the Center Store, his parents owned, at midnight and make huge ice cream sundaes at the dairy bar. In the winter we’d go on hikes through the frozen woods and stop to make a fire and make birch bark tea. Brett taught me how to sail in his little 8 foot boat on Long Meadow Pond. Sadly, I never caught up with him after graduation when we went off in our own directions. I always knew he’d be a very successful man.
I would like to express my sincere condolences on the passing of Brett. I knew Brett from my days in Newton, MA, and more recently from Middleboro with others. I will miss Brett’s insights and wonderful wit and gregariousness. I count myself fortunate to have been able to spend time with him and will miss him greatly. It’s really true that we can never take for granted the time we spend with really wonderful people. My thoughts and prayers to Brett’s family and to all those who loved him.
I owe much to Brett Carr. He spent countless hours caring for me and my brother during our childhood, taking us canoeing on Sunday afternoons in the Charles near the Carrs’ Dedham house, building a go-kart with us with an old Briggs & Stratton engine from a snowblower, taking us to the old dump to race go karts with Ben & Bons, taking us to Maine where we would “turn to glue” it was so cold in the cabin, taking us out on various boating (mis)adventures, taking us skiing at Ragged Mountain (“It’s number one feature is that it’s cheap!”), and when I was older, taking me to England and getting us lost through the English countryside as he drove that little rental car crazily through winding country roads. He also cared deeply for my faith, and strove to help me know Christ and appreciate God more. I cannot deny the pivotal role dear Brett played in my formative years. We cherish the many memories of Brett, aka “The Whale,” dearly and hold the family in our heart, knowing that someday we will see him again. Thank you dear Carr family for sharing Brett with us during his life on the earth.
Non condescending care from Brett. Fixed my flat tire on a busy highway. Gave me a job at his first company for two years when it was difficult to get one. Gave Ken and me a used station wagon
that took us on trips to Canada. Headed to school with my kids in the car we skid into a huge snow bank. Brett and another brother dug us out while smiling. He and his youngest son helped us move to Cambridge. On and on. His wife Pam was the same. Generous with their possessions and their time always
This is what I remember of the Carrs whom I love
It has taken me a while to write this. I found out about the loss of brother Brett Carr approximately a month after his passing. The news shook and broke me-I couldn’t understand why such a wonderful person was taken from us so soon. I am not a biological relative-I was a member of his church back in Cambridge/Boston. I was working with homeless kids-and contracted tuberculosis while attending the same church. Brother Brett Carr kindly bought me an air conditioner to help me with ventilation/breathing after my TB diagnosis during the muggy summer months. I will never forget his gift -every time I turned the AC on while in home quarantine-I would feel the breeze in my otherwise tiny, stuffy apartment in Cambridge-and I would remember that this bear of a man had gifted me an air conditioner after hearing I was sick. He would continue to shepherd me from afar and check in on me as a surrogate father figure/uncle for over a decade afterwards.
He loved the Lord and adored his children. Brother Brett had an irrepressible sense of joy about him. I can still hear his laughter in my head-a deep, resonant timbre that would fill the room, flood the hallway, tickle your soul. He quietly and unfailingly gave to others-whether it was in the form of an air conditioner to me when I was in quarantine and sick; a job to people who needed some money or work experience; a ride; help moving; or emotional/spiritual support and a listening ear.
He was never too busy to make space for someone else-despite his intense business schedule, travels, and family obligations. Tasks were always secondary to people for Brett Carr-and that is a lesson that I walked away from knowing this wonderful man and brother in Christ. Your “to do” list may be full-but the priority and overarching goal is to seek the Lord and to love people.
Brother Brett Carr had an engineer’s mind, an entrepreneur’s vision- but at his core-he was a persevering Christian and dedicated family man. He not only adored his children and grandchildren-he expanded the reach of his ferocious love and tenderness to members of the family of God. His most private, vulnerable, and joyous moments were with his immediate/extended kin and loved ones; but the rest of us who were not related to him by blood, or by marriage, were still watered from his unfailingly kind, generous spirit. I am a recipient of this man’s thoughtful, quiet care-and I am forever changed by the imprint he has left behind. I know that I am not alone. I know that he shepherded, cared for, and connected to so many people in and outside of church-and lived a life of authenticity, vulnerability, and vision before the Lord.
I haven’t seen brother Brett Carr in person in years. I have since moved back to California, got married, and had 2 kids. Our correspondence was largely on social media, encouraging texts, updates, and a phone call. He was the uncle, the mentor, the papa bear that never judged me-he never thought I was too much or too out there-in a world that constantly told me otherwise. He embraced my shortcomings and humbly, comically shared his own losses and pain. He saw the joy, irreverence, and blessing in nearly everything, anything-no matter how hard the climb or how deep the loss.
So now that he is not with us in the physical realm-I am reminded that our legacies are built brick by brick by the people who love us and who we loved. At the end of the day-you can say that Brother Brett Carr was a devout and authentic Christian, an active member of the Body of Christ, a father, a grandfather (many times over!), an engineer, a businessman, and a friend. Just being in his presence-whether at church or on the other end of the phone-made you feel a little lighter, a little less heavy, a little stronger, a tad mightier, and a lot more understood than before your encounter with him (however transient or fleeting). He is missed terribly.
-Connie Chung (Albrecht)
As I was searching something else, I came across the notice of Bret’s passing by chance. So sorry for the family’s loss, yet very happy to read a little of Bret’s life. I always thought the Carr family was one of the most wonderful families I’ve ever known. Beautiful memories of them all.
I found that Bret has passed away during some search online. My sincere condolences.. it is very sad to hear about this..
I am personally respect him for his expertise in centrifuges and separations. His products are work of art to me.
Thank you for his effortless guidances and all recommendations in the past.