AUBURN – He wore his hair like one of his idols, John F. Kennedy. And he spoke like another, Abraham Lincoln.

That is how Dan Pontbriand described his father, Gerald “Jerry” Pontbriand.

The former owner of Pontbriand’s Hardware in New Auburn and a member of the Auburn School Committee for 25 years, Pontbriand died Monday of complications related to old age.

He was 86.

Pontbriand was elected to the School Committee for the first time in 1953, when his first son, Bob, was only 1 year old. The mayor of Auburn at the time asked him to run because he knew he would be a fair representative of the community.

Pontbriand remained on the board until 1978, when the youngest of his six children graduated from high school.

“He was very dedicated to improving local education for us and for all of the other kids,” Dan Pontbriand said.

“And he had a sense of public duty,” added his other son, Bob.

During Pontbriand’s stint on the board, the School Committee dealt with various complicated issues, including the construction of a new high school and the hiring of several superintendents.

Pontbriand is remembered for always being diplomatic.

“When he said something, it was short and of high quality,” said his son. “He was calculated about the way he said things, sort of like Abraham Lincoln.”

According to those who worked with him, people listened.

“He always sat back and absorbed everyone’s arguments, then he would say something. He was a very powerful person because of that,” said Elmer Berry, who served on the School Committee in the 1970s.

Berry, who was 20 years younger than Pontbriand, said Pontbriand was always careful when spending the school’s money.

“He always made sure there was no waste,” Berry said. “He would preach about it to us younger guys.”

Between his work on the School Committee and the long hours that it took to run his hardware store, Pontbriand often got home late. But he and his wife, Thelma, a retired registered nurse, always found time to do special things with their five sons and their daughter.

In 1960, Pontbriand took his entire family to see John F. Kennedy on his quick campaign stop to the area. Seven years later, the couple piled the entire family into the the station wagon for a trip to El Paso, Texas.

On the way, they stopped in Washington, D.C., to see the former president’s tombstone.

“He really liked JFK,” Dan Pontbriand said. “He liked him so much, he modeled his hairstyle after him.”

Pontbriand was a young boy when he started working at his parents’ gas station and hardware store in New Auburn. He and his brother, Leo, took over the shop in the 1960s.

Bob Pontbriand said his dad knew most people in town from working at the store.

“He was very shy, but he could talk to anyone about anything,” Bob Pontbriand said.

A sergeant in the Army who repaired P-51 Mustang airplanes during World War II, Pontbriand was also the type of guy who could take anything apart and fix it.

After he retired from the hardware store in 1980, two of his favorite things to do were tinkering in his garage and playing golf.

The owner of Fairlawn Country Club, Frank Bartacious, said Pontbriand played at least once a week before he got sick.

“He was always very relaxed,” Bartacious said. “He just enjoyed life.”