William Bradley — ST. JOHN'S

BRADLEY William A. (Bill) Bradley, 79 January 17, 1940 - May 21, 2019 The Duke has hung up his spurs How in a few paragraphs do you write about a life fully lived? We will try…The formal bits…Born the youngest of 8 children to Kenneth and Irene Bradley of Sandringham, Newfoundland. Predeceased by sisters: PhyllisCrisby (Rex), Marjorie Hallett (Thomas), Lorna Stuckless (Gord); Brothers: Kenneth (Josephine), Patrick (Melva), Rayfield (Joan). Survived by sister Helene Osmond (Jim). Married into the Pinsent Clan. Walter Pinsent (Norma), Garry Pinsent (Barbara), Junior Pinsent (Gloria), Judy Bragg and Hilda Buckles (Casey). Predeceased by In-laws Adolphus and Amanda Pinsent, Glenn Pinsent, Lillian Pinsent, Art Bragg and Gary Fowlow. Remembered and loved by too many nieces and nephews to mention. Fresh out of high school he was a teacher for a short time in Trout River, Bonne Bay. Later in 1959 at the age of 19 became a Constable with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for a period of 5 years. A job that never fully left him. Eventually he made his mark in the automobile industry. Eventually in 1977 with partner Dave Morgan started Toyota Plaza Limited and in their 25 plus years of ownership would eventually grow to become the largest import car dealership in Atlantic Canada. He often noted that this success was not done alone but with the help of staff whom he considered the finest group of employees in the industry. The greatest love of his life was his family, wife of 52 years Sandra (Pinsent); son Trevor; daughters: Vanessa and Jennifer. Daughter-in-law Denise; son-in-laws Oyvind Hagen and Stephen Bartlett. The true sunshine of his life was his 9 grandchildren. Grace, Claire and Charlotte Bradley. Einar, Annelise and Maya Hagen. Avah, Oliver and Isabel Bartlett. All of whom he loved “Tons”. If you wanted to see a proud man, you’d only have to look at dad at the head of the dining room table with the whole family present. If dad had one true passion it was horses. Most people have been on a horse but not many know how to ride. Dad was one of the finest horsemen that ever swung a leg over a saddle. He was first introduced to them as a child and over the course of almost 50 years owned some 12. This passion led to forming the Newfoundland Trail Riders Association, this group of like minded individuals would enjoy local weekend and week long rides and ventured out of province to such locations as the deserts of Utah, rode the Pony Express Trail in Wyoming but most often it was Banff, Alberta where for 20 plus years their biennial ride would be the cause of great celebration by members and outfitter alike. Not a religious man, he felt that if there was such thing as God he was most likely to be found while on horseback enjoying wildlife and the beauty of nature. If you met our father for the first time you might be intrigued by the cowboy boots and Stetson hat. Not often found in Newfoundland it could be perceived as being an act but it was in fact all him. For dad it was as natural as breathing, he was cowboy to the core. For us, it was normal. He never owned a pair of shoes, unless you consider the white Velcro jobbies that he’d buy in Florida every year to walk the beach. Nor a pair of shorts, the world was just not ready to view those skinny white legs. He wanted his shirts to have pearl snap buttons, suits to be western and jeans to be Wranglers. We joked more than once that he must have been a reincarnated gunfighter that was killed 150 years ago in the old west. That was one of our ways to try to explain dad’s uniqueness. Upon retirement from the car business he combined his involvement with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary with his love of horses and was instrumental in re-establishing the RNC Mounted Unit. Donating a trailer, riding gear and the first two “Nobles”, horses Vince and Townsend. His enormous support of the RNC eventually led to being appointed the rank of Honorary Inspector by the force. He loved good music and appreciated talent when he saw it. He was an exceptional self-taught accordion and harmonica player and thoroughly enjoyed playing with the Trail Riders band “The Hoof Beats”. Many a jam would involve a few “snorts” and if you were lucky enough you might hear a 10 minute long version of George Jones “He Stopped Loving Her Today” or Willie’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. He loved a good game of Texas Hold ‘em, turkey dinner with mom’s gravy, his annual trip to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, a “Dark and Dirty” of dark Captain Morgan, Pepsi, big ice cubes with a squeeze of lime in a proper stemmed glass. He made a mean Caesar, cooked rabbit dinner and strong cowboy coffee. His yell of “Boy Howdy’s!”, “God Damns!” And toast of “Here’s to Ourselves!” was a crowd pleaser and bringer of smiles. He had a handshake that could bring you to your knees. When he said he was going to do something, he did it. Hated “no” or “can’t” for an answer. Would give you the shirt off his back, and often did. If he liked you, you knew it and if he didn’t it’s a good chance you knew that too and his squeeze of your shoulder or pat on the back meant as much as a hug. He provided the world to his family, taught valuable life lessons to his kids and always led by example. Believe it or not, he was stubborn at times (ha ha) and believed that with hard work anything could be accomplished. Right up until the end he did everything “his” way, stoic in every sense of the word. If someone were to ask our dad on any given day how he was he would always respond with “I’m perfect”. Now health wise, we know this was not always the case and we also know there is no man without their flaws, but to us, the ones he loved and loved him back in return he was exactly that, perfect. The Bradley family would like to thank the medical staff of St. Clare’s. Especially, Dr. Emily Rowsell and all the “angels without wings” on 6 East. The tremendous outpourings of prayers, thoughts and messages from friends and family have truly touched our hearts. Not wanting to be fussed about, as per dad’s request, there will be no funeral or visitation but at some point in the near future we’ll be having a celebration of his wonderful life. This is not a time to be sad but be thankful for the fabulous 79 years he had.