Paul E. Bracegirdle, of Newtown, passed away on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at his home. He was 66.

Born in Philadelphia, he was a son of the late Joseph and Eleanor Hoffman Bracegirdle.

He was the loving husband of 46 years to Lenore Magdziak Bracegirdle of Newtown, Pennsylvania. As a daring high school senior, he showed up at her door on her sixteenth birthday; they remained together ever since.

A 1964 graduate of Neshaminy High School, Paul studied Civil Engineering at Trenton Junior College and Villanova University. Independent-minded and confident by nature, he soon embarked upon a bold career as an inventor and entrepreneur.

Paul was a prolific innovator, receiving twenty-three U.S. patents and ten foreign patents. He designed asphalt plants, and devised a variety of economical methods for mixing asphalt and concrete, incorporating recycled materials and waste products in the process. He founded the Concrete Lumber Company, which uses his patents to manufacture versatile building components, and served as its Chief Executive Officer. A winner of the National Award for Energy Innovation from the U.S. Department of Energy in 1990, Paul also served as a U.S. advisor to the government of Kosovo for the rebuilding of its roads.

Paul enjoyed fixing things from the beginning, restoring British sports cars as a teenager, and collaborating with his wife on building and renovating their homes over the years, in Langhorne, the Poconos, Newtown, and Cape May. He is remembered as a man of calm capability, above all else a bulwark to the family that he loved.

In addition to his wife, Paul is survived by his children: Thad J. Bracegirdle and his wife Heather of Media, PA and Anne A. Bracegirdle of New York, NY; his sisters: Gail Bracegirdle and her husband Will Lewis, and Jill Blagg and her husband Thomas; his brothers: Lee Bracegirdle and his wife Gabi, and Glenn Bracegirdle and his wife Tracy; and his two cherished grandchildren: Benjamin and Archer Bracegirdle.

Services and interment will be private at the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Vanguard School, P.O. Box 730, Paoli, PA 19301. Please make checks payable to Valley Forge Educational Services.