Miles Gordon Bader

With great sadness we say goodbye to Miles, our beloved son, brother, uncle and friend. Miles was creative, thoughtful and gentle. Miles died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home on Bainbridge Island from an aortic dissection, which we understand could not have been detected and did not cause pain or fear. We miss him terribly, and our pain at his sudden loss is indescribable. He left us too soon—the world is a lesser place without him.

After graduating from Bainbridge High School in 1983, Miles earned a degree in applied math from Carnegie Mellon University. He subsequently worked at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the Free Software Foundation in Boston, and ultimately found his way to Japan, where he lived for 20 years.

Miles’s many friends loved him for his kindness, his quirky humor and his sense of fun. He was always in pursuit of interesting food and beer, and had a fine appreciation for culinary adventure. He loved animals and had a deep sense of empathy. Miles was absolutely unique.

Miles loved Japan and took great pleasure in studying Japanese language and culture – his accounts of life in Tokyo, often in the form of elaborately written postcards, were a joy to read. He later took up studying Chinese and spent hours and hours poring over his books. He was a talented photographer and calligrapher with an artist’s eye and sentiment. He took great pleasure in his work, which he approached with the care and pride of a craftsman.

There are so many Miles stories! The patience and kindness with which he helped his niece with her homework; the Instagram account he began for his sister’s dog; his stories about flying first class from Japan with a ratty paper bag for his carry-on, leading to very confused flight attendants; the time he left his mom stranded at the Berlin airport because a tempting kebab stand made him miss his train to meet her; his high school math teacher sending him to the principal’s office after he asked one too many questions—with instructions to give Miles an A and not let him back into class (the teacher had to relent on that one); his decision to wear his new birthday bathrobe to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Miles made us laugh, drove us crazy, shared his passions, and never hesitated to give a hand or a hug when one was needed.

Miles is survived by his mother Arlene Bader, sister Laura Bader and brother Graham Bader, brother-in-law Vic Sturm, sister-in-law Lida Oukaderova, nephews Ben Sturm and Leo Bader and nieces Lida Sturm and Sasha Bader.

We can’t believe Miles is gone, and we struggle each day to make sense of our loss. The world is smaller now. But it is also so much bigger because Miles graced it with his life. We will love and remember him, always.