I thought I'd post the eulogy that I gave for Brad to share with our nuke family...
First of all I’d like to say that Brad was perhaps the best little brother a girl could ever want… always there and just aggravating enough to make life fun.
Brad came into this world 9 weeks early weighing a mere 4 pounds. Although I was only 3 I remember when Momma brought him home from the hospital because when she changed his first diaper he christened everything in range including me… needless to say I wanted her to take him back, but she didn’t and I am so glad. As he grew up and followed me around, I nicknamed him Boo Boo Bear after Yogi’s faithful friend; he called me Gert cause for some reason our dad called me that to pick on me.
Growing up, no one in our neighborhood could play “Army” better than Brad, he had the ability to make a noise that sounded just like a machine gun firing while the rest of us were left to just say “bang, bang”… later as we left childhood behind we turned to bottle rocket wars fought with friends like Pat and Steve in our front yard or even driving down the country roads of Ocala, FL… once Brad accidently lit his shirt on fire when a firecracker came back into the truck and hit the open pack in his shirt pocket.
In 1978 we left Florida behind and moved to South Carolina bringing Pat with us and settling in Barnwell. Here in Barnwell Brad and I made new friends, Kenny, Gary and Owen who was perhaps the best, best friend a guy could have. One of the greatest things Brad ever did for me was apply for a job with Big Star grocery store. One Spring day a young man knocked on our front door to tell Brad he had been hired at Big Star, later Brad brought him home for dinner and a 5 months later Frank and I were married.
I believe that one of the reasons Brad and I remained so close is that for the past 30 years as he and Frank traveled the country (with me often with them) we roomed together. So in a since we never left home. I gladly cooked and cleaned for him and he helped raise my children who believed that the sun rose and set in their Unc.
Brad and Frank remained friends even after becoming inlaws and they were not ashamed to tell each other that they loved the other. They reminded me of Grumpy Old Men at times as they would often complain that they were kept awake at night by the other one snoring; but if you asked neither would ever admit that they even snored.
A few short years ago, my daughter Beth and I threatened to sign him up for an online dating service as we were tired of him being alone; before we could do it he came to me and said he’d done it himself and had a date that week. Brad wanted to know what he should wear and I said a pink shirt, he always looked good in pink and he wore it well… I’m glad he went on that date and that he met Paula and although they had a brief time together, he was so happy and so was I for he had found someone to love him as much as I did.
This week while looking through old photos I came across a handmade card, just a simple piece of computer paper with drawings and words that Brad wrote to me after a spat we had while working in Maine. It was a silly, dramatic but painful fight resulting in me getting out of the truck and walking away to go in the grocery store… when I came back to the truck I found this note on my seat which said “Sorry we had words, I just wanted to let you know I love you” Brad.
He was such a bear, grouchy and grumbly at times and warm, fuzzy and cuddly at others.
I’ll miss you Boo Boo, love Gert.
