Brown Roofing, a Seymore, Conn.-based roofing contracting firm, established a program last year called “Roofing for Humanity,” where the company provides a reroof at no charge for a family who needs assistance.

As first reported in The Newtown Bee, Roofing for Humanity’s inaugural reroof was awarded to Amy Brady, whose husband Richard passed away in December 2022. Richard Brady was a well-known community member of Botsford, a village located within Newtown’s city limits; he was a former Botsford Fire Rescue chief.

Newtown gained name recognition in the aftermath of an American tragedy when a gunman stormed into Sandy Hook Elementary School, murdering 28 people, 20 of whom were children. The event, which took place in 2012, remains the nation’s deadliest school shooting outside of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.

Eddie Griffin, Brown Roofing’s principal, founded Roofing for Humanity after learning about the Brady family’s plight and, as the Bee reported, “… began the program to help a family who has supported their community and needed some assistance of their own.”

Richard Brady’s widow, Amy, remains in the house along with the couple’s daughter as well as Amy’s elderly mother.

“We’ve made giving back part of our culture,” Griffin told a Bee reporter. “We wanted to give back to the Bradys because they gave so much.”

Brown Roofing employees descended onto the Brady home earlier this month and, along with members of Botsford Fire Rescue, knocked out the reroof by the end of the day.

Richard Brady was relatively young, age 63 when he passed away. He reportedly battled serious health issues but remained the family’s primary earner, which makes the gift of a reroof, which can cost upwards of $18,000, helpful to his bereft survivors.

Among other notable civic endeavors, Brady’s time with Botsford Fire put him front and center in the small village’s affairs. He had been a member of the department since 1977, the Bee reported. He was part of Botsford’s command structure from 1988 through his last post as chief, from 2001 to 2003. 

“We’re very thankful to Brown Roofing,” said Botsford First Assistant Chief Pete Blomberg. “Rich gave a lot, and now they’re giving back.”