Harland Bragg Obituary (1937 - 2026)

Waterville - Harland Wendell Bragg went home to be with his Lord at 89 years of age on September 2, 2026, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on May 22, 1937, in Oakland, Maine to Wendell Goodhue Bragg and Evelyn (Noble) Bragg. Harland went to school in Sidney at the one-room Longfellow School and continued grades 4-8 at Thayer Corner. He was a 1955 graduate of Waterville Senior High School and a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono’s 2-year Agriculture program. He then began working with the Kennebec Soil Conservation Service. While home at the Bragg Homestead Farm he met a cute young lady from Massachusetts who was visiting his relatives. He married Shirley B. Spencer in 1960 and they had celebrated 65 years of marriage before her passing in November of 2025. Harland worked at the Albert Taylor Farm in Sidney: the farm he later bought, raised his family on, and worked at until he was 83. He developed his dairy herd and in the 1970s and onward he grew sweet corn for his vegetable stand, as well as producing the Bragg’s Famous Dry Mustard Pickles from the recipe handed down from his father. Harland loved classic cars, 4-wheeling, singing hymns, and, in later years, camping with Shirley down on the Kennebec River behind the farm. Harland was very civic minded serving as a Boy Scout leader, on the Sidney Town Planning Board, Chief and Warden for the River Road Volunteer Fire Dept., and helping form the Sidney Snowmobile Club. He also served the Sidney-Vassalboro District in the Maine Legislature for two terms. Harland was active in the Maine Farm Bureau and was the host for the first Maine Farm Days and the 25th Maine Farm Days in 1993. He also served diligently in the local churches he attended, enjoyed trips supporting missionaries around the globe, and became an ordained minister. Harland and Shirley received the Spirit of America Award in recognition of their extensive community service. Harland is survived by son Jeffrey and wife Kathy Bragg, daughter Pamela and husband Peter Schutte, son Kenneth, and daughter Mary and husband Travis Manley, all of Sidney, 11 grandchildren: Kara, Jacob, Michael, Corinne, Caleb, Ross, Austen, Isaac, Kristin, Anna, and Emma, 26 great-grandchildren with one more due in January, his sister Wilma Conti of Maryland, his brothers David (Shirley) Bragg of W. Rockport and Wayne (Patty) Bragg of Sidney, and a wealth of nieces, nephews, and cousins. Harland was predeceased by his wife, Shirley, on November 3, 2025, as well as his sister-in-law Kathy (Boynton) Bragg and brother-in-law Enrico Conti. Harland wanted to mention several close friends, Bill Barton, Ben Crosby, and Calvin Grant, who have meant a lot to him over the years. His family would like to thank all the home caregivers, the nurses, CNAs, and staff at Lakewood Long-Term Care, everyone from Beacon Hospice involved in supporting him, John and Sonia Mathieu, and his beloved friends who visited him and kept his sense of humor sharp over the last few challenging years. A private family gathering will take place this fall and a Celebration of Harland and Shirley’s lives will be announced next spring. Burial will be at Springer Cemetery, in Sidney, Maine. Arrangements are under the direction and care of Gallant Funeral Home, 10 Elm Street, Waterville. An online guestbook may be signed, condolence and memories shared at www.gallantfh.com.