Joseph Bradford Leighton

World Water Day from a thoracic aneurysm.

He was born in Portland in January of 1951 to Carol Anne Baker and Joseph Donald Vacchiano. Grandson Of Carlton (Barry) Bradford Baker and Anna Smith Baker; Lillian A. Nelson Vacchiano and Pasquale D. (Pat) Vacchiano.

On his mother’s side Joe’s ancestors were among the earliest New England settlers while his father’s parents were first generation American Mainers.

Joe attended both Portland and South Portland Schools graduating from Portland High School a year late due to traveling the country at 18 and working in CT and Texas on his way to explore the west coast and “The Haight” in San Francisco in 1969. A few years after graduating he backpacked throughout Europe and particularly enjoyed his companions from Bermuda that he met along the way.

Passionate about aeronautics, he was in the Jr. Air Patrol as a youth and had earned his pilot license in his 20’s, working for several years at Maine Aviation at PWM, in many ways following in the footsteps of his grandfather Barry and Uncle Bo.

One of his most memorable flights involved landing on the high grass runway on Marthas Vineyard with Doug Brown, resulting in a bright green underbelly on a brand new Cessna. Like many pilots Joe could identify any small plane overhead by sound or sight.

Joe was exceptionally bright and excelled in the sciences. He earned an Associates Degree in Marine Biology/Oceanography and later spent two years earning his Bachelor of Science in Geology, graduating Magna Cum Laude and receiving the Robert N. Miller Earth Science Award from The University Of Southern Maine, at 43 years of age.

He particularly enjoyed his time at USM with fellow student Michael DeCourcey and Professor Charles Fitz as he assisted in the inaugural integration of GIS technology into the department and volunteered with Mike in the early years of water quality monitoring for the Casco Bay Baykeeper Program.

Joe started working at an early age delivering newspapers, picking at Jordan’s farm, and for a TV/antenna business in South Portland as a teenager. He delivered paper goods for State Paper, bounced the door at Jim’s, installed simple energy saving technologies for the Portland Regional Opportunity Program, helped out at his Mother’s restaurant and drove a cab for Town Taxi.

After graduating from USM, he spent 20 years working for Sevee and Maher Engineers in Cumberland in their two person IT Department meticulously reviewing hydrogeologic reports and maintaining their network computer systems. Upon his retirement Joe lived solo for 5 months in equatorial Panama before returning to his beloved Maine.

Joe was a kind, modest man, known for his sense of humor and his many serendipitous stories of travel, rock concerts and attendance of Woodstock 69 and Watkins Glen. He was an incredible self-healer, studying hypnotherapy in his 50’s, whose hair was still dark and long at 72 years of age.

His entertaining array of card tricks, jokes, juggling, boating and fishing skills were shared with many friends over the decades. He was an excellent chess player, an amateur astronomer and an ever-curious student of the history of Earth and the Universe who dreamed of social equity and planetary peace.

He was always very appreciative of the love and support of his favorite companion and wife of many years Emily Whitman Leighton. No one could spot a lucky four leaf, five leaf, six leaf clover like Joe, despite being unable to properly see the colors red or green.

Joe is predeceased by his parents, brothers Jaime Vacchiano and Craige Leighton and many dear friends. He is survived by his sisters Leslie Wenzel of New York and Rachel Leighton of Falmouth, Uncles Bo Baker of South Portland, Donny Baker of California and his Aunt Barbara Cutting of Sebago, children Chelsea Leighton and Alex Leighton, his nephews Nick and Elliot Vacchiano, Matthew Leighton, Mike and John Foley, Ben Leighton, nieces Courtney Foley and Kayla Leighton and his Grandson Blake Vasquez.

A GoFundMe is being created to assist the family with final expenses, including a memorial garden and late spring celebration, and to help them effectively set up a nonprofit foundation to honor his vision of charitable giving to his fellow Maine citizens.

Friends and family interested in assisting with setting up or contributing to the GoFundMe can email his family at [email protected]