Gregory Edward Bader, 24, of Norwich and formerly of Colchester and Marlborough, passed away unexpectedly on March 8, 2019. He was a 2012 graduate of RHAM High School. Greg was a loving, generous, young man who found life to be both a joy and a struggle.
He was very warm hearted, outgoing, and fun loving. Greg was an extremely hard worker and very proud of his work ethic and accomplishments. His ability to work non-stop for hours, performing labor-intensive tasks that few would see through completion, such as spreading countless yards of mulch on the hottest summer day, was truly admirable.
An avid Yankees fan, he loved to play baseball and basketball. He took great joy in all types of accomplishments, like climbing Mt. Washington and learning to drive a stick shift car.
He was very proud of his most recent jobs at Lucas Tree Experts in Norwich and Friends and Family, LLC in Marlborough, where he viewed all of his coworkers as his friends and the latter as his “second” family. These connections and relationships had placed him proudly on the path to becoming the Greg Bader he believed he was meant to be, but he had a misstep that took our beloved Gregory from us. Our hearts are broken and will never fully mend, but we will move forward in his honor, focusing on all the things Greg taught us about how wonderful life can be.
Greg and his brother, Kevin Bader, were not only brothers, but also best friends. Greg was always there for Kevin or anyone who faced any type of struggles. Greg would never think twice about taking a risk to help someone in distress.
We will always remember what he would do without giving it a second thought…. . from swimming out to the middle of Lake Terramuggus to help a child who fell out of a flipped canoe, to proudly helping his parents, sisters, and friends with everything from home renovations to the messiest clean ups of all types.
Greg inspired his immediate family to always be and do better. His father and mother, Edward and Nancy Bader, learned to be the best parents they could be in a world very different from the one of their own youth. Gregory would become the parent and help them understand and deal with these differences.
He was never embarrassed to have parents old enough to be his grandparents and a sister old enough to be his mother. His sisters, Suzanne Salemi and Christine Peach, helped him grow up, and in the process became forever grateful about what he taught them so that they could be better parents and classroom teachers. In addition, no words can sum up how important Gregory and his brother, Kevin Bader, were to each other.
They were adopted from the same orphanage and shared their lives, joys, and misfortunes as only true brothers could. Above all else, Gregory was a complicated young man. He always played his favorite song loudly in his bedroom from the time he started really listening to music and lyrics: Louis Armstrong “It’s a Wonderful World”.
He would want us to share these words with you as you remember him. I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful world. I see skies of blue and clouds of white The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night And I think to myself what a wonderful world The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people going by I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do They’re really saying I love you I hear babies crying, I watch them grow, They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know And I think to myself What a wonderful world.
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world. Greg was predeceased by his grandparents, Nena and Russell Schlitter of Hebron. He is survived by his immediate family members, Edward and Nancy Bader of Colchester and formerly of Marlborough, Kevin Bader of New London, Suzanne Salemi of Colchester, Christine and Collin Peach of Marlborough, and his four nephews Sam and Ben Salemi and Nicolas and Finnley Peach.
In addition, we, his immediate family, will be forever grateful to the role his second families played in his life, Greg and Erica Barker of Hebron and Jim and Mary Anne Salemi of Haddam. A Celebration of Greg’s life will be observed from 1 – 3 PM Saturday, May 11th at St. Peter’s Church Phelps Hall, 30 Church St. (Rte. 85), Hebron.
The Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home of Colchester has been entrusted with care of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those whom wish to extend an floral expression of sympathy that they rather consider a donation in Greg’s memory to AHM Youth and Family Services, Children’s Trust Fund, 25 Pendleton Drive, Hebron, CT 06248.
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