As an undergraduate at Hobart College, Dick Brautigam had the opportunity to make a presentation to the French Club. One young lady caught his eye. “She was wearing a red sweater,” he recalls. “She was so beautiful. I went up to her after the talk and bummed her last cigarette.”

That move marked the beginning of a journey shared by Dick and Anne Brautigam that lasted over 70 years, ending with Anne’s sudden death at the family’s camp at Moosehead Lake earlier this month on June 2.

I spent a wonderful hour with Dick at Thornton Oaks to learn about his life and his enduring relationship with Anne. Space precludes a full description of this couple’s long marriage. After all, you can’t put a song in a bottle. But here are some highlights.

They each put their fine minds and good hearts to work to advance the common good. Dick earned his doctorate in social welfare from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He later served on the faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. Anne earned a doctorate in education at the University of Kentucky, analyzing the British Infant School system via fieldwork during Dick’s sabbatical year at Cambridge University. She remained deeply involved in peace and social justice issues and foreign policy matters throughout her life.

They were devout Episcopalians. “When we met, I was an existential agnostic. Anne was the daughter of an Episcopal priest and raised in a high church family. When we lived in Wisconsin, Anne convinced me to attend the local Episcopal Church. I ended up being on the vestry and came to appreciate the Episcopalian perspective.” Anne later served as a lector and Eucharistic minister for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brunswick, and Dick has added his tenor to the St. Paul’s choir for years.

Just as Anne got Dick involved in the Episcopal Church, Dick got Anne into sailing and travel. They traveled in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe and chartered sailboats in the Caribbean.

Dick’s parents purchased a camp at Moosehead Lake in 1941, which has served as Dick and Anne’s retreat and family gathering place for decades.

The “camp” — perhaps compound is a better term as its various structures can sleep 23 people — remains today a magnet for Anne and Dick’s five children, seven grandchildren, a step-grandson and a step great-grandchild. Dick smiled while talking about the challenges and joys, the highs and lows, of bringing up five talented successful offspring: two daughters and three sons.

Hosting annual summer gatherings of four couples from St. Paul’s (described as “the Moosehead 8,” even though the actual composition changed from time to time) remained a constant end-of-summer highlight for Dick and Anne.

On June 2, Dick and Anne were playing bridge at the camp with their second son Steven and his wife Christine. Just after Anne bid “one heart” while opening the second hand her cell phone rang, she said, “I have to take this call” and then excused herself from the table.

Not surprisingly, the call was from 37-year-old Mike Springate, a young man with autism. Anne had babysat for Mike when he was two years old, and they’d remained close ever since. He called almost every day for over 30 years, just to connect. “The conversations were always short,” explained Dick. “Something like, ‘Hi, Miss Anne. It’s Mike. My cat had a good day and work went well. Goodbye. I love you.’ Then Anne would say, ‘I love you, Mike.’ That was it.”

After Anne said, “I love you, Mike” that night, she signed off. Minutes later, she collapsed and died. Her sudden death didn’t come as a complete surprise, because Anne had suffered from atrial fibrillation and several other debilitating conditions for years. As Dick noted, “Anne would often say, ‘This will be my last summer at Moosehead.’” And on June 2, her premonition came true.

There is no good time or place for a loved one to die, especially one with whom you’d shared so many years, so many memories, so many life experiences. That said, Anne Brautigam died doing what she loved to do in the place she loved with the people she loved.

Ninety-one-year-old Dick Brautigam sometimes got choked up when he talked about the death of his soulmate and the course of their marriage. But true to her spirit — and his — he will keep moving forward. He will continue playing ping pong with his friends at People Plus. He will remain active with the St. Paul’s Men’s group. He will get his regular workouts with Running Start, an exercise group sponsored by Thornton Oaks. And he will enjoy the camp at Moosehead with family and friends.

He’s already begun to honor Anne’s legacy by planning to continue the Moosehead 8 annual tradition in August. And he’s been sending and receiving texts from Mike Springate. Anne would be smiling.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.