Brad Thorton passed on to the great bar stool in the sky on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2025. According to the legends, Brad was born in Quebec, Canada on November 17, 1949, which would have made him 75 at the time of his passing. He was a “regular” at the World-Famous Logger Bar and that is where I met him, when I bought the bar in 2022. He came with it. The fourth bar stool from the left when you entered the bar was Brad’s. Two pints of PBR and a bag of Cheetos was his go to. He was loved and treasured in the community.

Brad’s past has a mist and a mystery about it. As his friend Paddy said, “Brad never let the truth get in the way of a great story”. Or as his roommate (and the person who tried to save his life) Zach, said, “I’m not even sure that Brad was his real name”.

After a stint with the Navy Seals in Greenland, Brad did a brief tour with the Rolling Stones. He is credited with transforming their distinctive sound. He then moved to Washington D.C. where he started a farmers’ market. It was there, selling cabbages, that he met his good friend, V.P. Dick Cheney. He often alluded to some missions he did with Dick for the CIA. They involved golden domes and deserts, though we were never sure if he was in Saudia Arabia or South Bend, where the golden dome belongs to Notre Dame. (Brad played fullback for the Fighting Irish on their national championship team).

Always seeking new vistas, Brad moved into pharmaceuticals. Though he never had a driver’s license (not even sure if he was a citizen), he tooled around the country in his vintage T-Bird pioneering new distribution networks for the emerging pain management, opioid market.

Brad was also missing fingers. We were never quite clear what happened. But it could have involved a drunken bet with a friend over who would cut their fingers off first. Brad won.

Brad lived a full, intense and complicated life. We loved him here. This is a homage to Brad. I imagine him laughing. He had a keen sense of humor. Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. There is a celebration of life for Brad every day at the Logger from 4 -6 pm - happy hour.

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The obituary above was submitted by Michael Fields on behalf of the Blue Lake community. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.