James Bradley

His wife of 65 years described him as a searcher. Dad was adventurous and fearless. He was bigger than life. A barely contained explosion. Coloring within the lines was not how he rolled. A student of human nature, constantly looking for ways to improve himself and those in his sphere of influence. Never content, his successes only fueled his thirst for the next horizon. Born July 10 1924 in Milwaukee Wisconsin to Albert (22) and Mary (20), their second son. Dad had a tough life: His Parents Divorced when he was a toddler. He and his brother Wally stayed with their Mom; his Father returned to Canada. He had no childhood recollections of his Father. Shortly thereafter, his Mother found she could no longer afford to support herself and her 2 boys. She decided to turn the boys over to an Orphanage (Dad was 4, Wally was 6). As fate would have it, she went down the road to the Children's Home instead of the Orphanage. Children’s Homes no longer exist. You placed your kids with them when, for whatever reason, you didn’t want to or could no longer care for them. Unlike an Orphanage, you retained parental “ownership” of your Children but they would become permanent residents of the home. The home Dad and Wally went to was for German kids. American Germans didn’t want their kids being raised by other cultures. They went to great lengths to insure that German kids were raised German, even if their parent were unable or unwilling to do so. She didn't realize her mistake until she spoke with the staff. They talked her into leaving the boys there until she could get back on her feet. Life in a group home run by Lutheran Nuns was strict but at least they had a roof over their head and food in their bellies. Sundays were interesting: after breakfast the kids would all get dressed and wait for their parents to come for a visit or maybe take them out for a little while. Most Sundays Mom didn't show up. They were required to wait on the porch until the sun went down.