 Carl
Roger Brechlin
Carl Brechlin, 53, of Meriden, CT, devoted father and husband,
business man and community volunteer, died unexpectedly while on
a river running trip with friends and family members on the Potomac
River in Harper’s Ferry West Virginia.
He was born at Meriden Hospital on July 25, 1954, the son of Alfred
Earl Brechlin of Meriden and Joyce Eileen [Foster] Brechlin. Growing
up in South Meriden he enjoyed frequent childhood explorations and
adventures along the banks of the Quinnipiac River which inspired
a life-long love of nature and the outdoors. One of his favorite
things as a boy was to lie in bed on warm summer evenings and listen
to the sounds of freight trains rumbling by in the distance.
He attended Meriden schools and graduated from Platt High School
in 1972. It was while he was in high School that he met, courted and
won the love of his life, Mary Ellen [Deno]. The couple married in
1975 and always lived in Meriden where they raised four children.
After graduation Carl began his working life in the warehouse of
Ryerson Steel in Wallingford. He eventually worked his way into
the front office and into the corporate world quickly gaining the
real-world experience and market savvy that propelled him up the
corporate ladder on his way to becoming the chief financial officer
for a variety of Connecticut firms including SKF Steel, Duamex,
an international flower importer, and safety equipment manufacturer
Sinco Sala.
Throughout his life Carl sought to give back to the community which
he believed had given so much to him and his family. He is the former
scoutmaster of Troop 10, the oldest continuously chartered troop
in Connecticut. He is a former Deacon and Trustee of the First Congregational
Church of Meriden and became involved at the board level with that
institution’s Camp Claire which he attended as a youth and
later worked at as a counselor. In recent years Carl enjoyed serving
as a Lay Leader and Finance Committee member at the United Methodist
Church of Meriden.He was an active member of the Meriden Chapter
of Rotary International and was a member of the Greater Meriden
Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the board of the Augusta
Curtis Cultural Center in Meriden.
A long-time member of the Freemasons, Carl was a three-time Past
Master of Meridian Lodge #77 and the Shrine as a member of the Sphinx
Temple in Newington. It was while helping raise funds to Masonic
charities that he founded and organized a series of antique shows
which were a fixture for many years during Meriden’s Daffodil
Festival in Hubbard Park. The shows were a natural offshoot of Carl
and Mary Ellen’s interest in antiques. The couple began buying
and selling antiquities as part of their cottage business, Nest
Egg Antiques.
Eventually the focus of the business shifted to auctions and the
company began operating out of a series of locations in Meriden
with family members and close friends comprising most of the staff.
Because of the family atmosphere and a belief that auctions should
be fun, Nest Egg Auctions quickly attracted a legion of loyal devotees.
“It’s auctiontainment,” Carl was fond of saying.
Carl attended advanced auctioneering classes and was a member of
the National Auctioneers Association. As a professional auctioneer
he was awarded the honorary title of “Colonel” a historical
designation that arose shortly after the Civil War when officers
of that rank were assigned the duty of auctioning off surplus military
equipment.
It was during a series of corporate buyouts and plant closings several
years ago that “Colonel Carl” and the family decided
to take the plunge and begin operating Nest Egg Auctions full-time.
The company has grown to occupy an 11,000-square foot gallery on
Research Parkway in Meriden and includes a “buy-it-now”
store, and snack bar. The company’s auctions are frequently
aired on local cable television and have also been featured on the
network television show “Cash in the Attic.” After a
brief hiatus the family plans to continue to conduct business as
usual.
Among his many other interests were trains and model railroading
specifically the New Haven Railroad. He and Mary Ellen also shared
a zeal for collecting items from Meriden’s past.
Along with his passion for history and all things old, Carl never
surrendered his love for the outdoors cultivated as a youth. For
more than 20 years he organized regular semi-annual canoeing, camping
and backpacking expeditions with family and friends to the rivers
and summits of the northeast including Mount Washington, the Appalachian
Trail, the St. Croix River, and especially Mount Katahdin in Maine
where he also volunteered to help maintain trails around the high
mountain campsite at Chimney Pond.
Rare was the time that he passed by a stream or river and, in checking
the water level, didn’t remark “it looks runable.”
The outing group became known as the Moose River Camping Club in
honor of their first river trip in Maine. Carl was on one of their
group’s excursions, surrounded his brothers and by people
he loved and who loved him, when he passed away while running rapids
on the Potomac as a train passed by on the opposite bank.
Carl was predeceased by his son Blake, in 2004, his father Al, his
grandmother Barbara [Roebuck] Brechlin and grandparents Carl and
Patricia Foster. He is survived by his wife of nearly 33 years, Mary Ellen, his mother
and stepfather, Joyce and Charles Parmelee of Bar Harbor, Maine,
stepmother, Ruth Gregg Brechlin of Durham, his son Ryan and companion
Christine Johnson of West Hartford, daughter Jennifer Soderberg
and husband Adam of Meriden, son Christopher of Meriden and Harold
Hedlund of Milford who Carl considered a son. He is also survived
by his twin brother Earl Brechlin, and his wife Roxie of Bar Harbor,
brother Dale Brechlin and wife Jane of Harper’s Ferry West
Virginia, sister Barbara Saunders and husband Doug of Rockland Maine,
and sister Patricia Lane and husband Gary of Damariscotta Maine,
and many nieces and nephews including Renee St. Hilaire of Middletown,
CT, Fred St. Hilaire of Wallingford, CT, David St. Hilaire Jr.,
of Wallingford, Amy Kostka of Rockport, MA,. Kristin Saunders-Falla
of Tenant’s Harbor, Maine, Kelly Saunders of Rockland, Maine,
Erica Powell of Bristol, Maine, Jason Brechlin of Laramie, WY, and
Crystal Neher of Las Vegas, NV.
Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, June 4 at 11 a.m. at
the First United Methodist Church at 15 Pleasant Street in Meriden
with Rev. Eric Henderson officiating. There will be no wake. In
accordance with Carl’s wishes there will be no graveside services.
In lieu of flowers donations in Carl’s name can be sent to
the Camp Claire Canoe Fund, 62 Colony Street, Meriden, CT 06450,
or, the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, 516 Carew Street,
Springfield MA 01104.
Arrangements by John Ferry and Sons, 88 East Main Street, Meriden.
www.jferryfh.com
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