John Bradfield

John Martin Bradfield NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leafs a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. John Martin Bradfield, known to family and friends as Brad died at home in the room he loved after a long struggle with Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia on October 28th. Brad was born to John M. and Dolly Bradfield on January 6, 1942. Big Brad, his dad, made it home from Pearl Harbor where he had experienced the December 7th attack just in time for his only son's birth. Since his father was career Navy, Brad's childhood and youth were spent in many locations up and down the West Coast and on several Pacific islands. His fondest childhood memories were of the years his family was stationed on Palau, and he retained a love of the tropics for rest of his life. After big Brad's retirement, the family settled in Puyallup Washington where Brad graduated from Puyallup High in 1960 as student body vice president. Brad put himself through the University of Washington driving trucks, and he retained a fondness for that occupation. He graduated with a degree in political science which included a focus on Southeast Asia in 1966, and joined the Navy as an aviation officer candidate. Brad loved flying jets even more than driving trucks. Flight struck a spiritual chord in him, but concerns about the Viet Nam War caused him to stop flying before he achieved his wings. It was the hardest decision of his life. Once out of the service Brad and his wife, Tori, settled in Alameda where she was already teaching for the AUSD. Brad returned to college and earned a Masters in counseling psychology. In 1982 he was licensed as a marriage and family therapist. He developed a practice in San Francisco and Berkeley that lasted 25 years. Brad's key characteristic was integrity. He never took the easy way out of any project or situation. He demonstrated this quality in the work he did restoring two wooden boats and a Victorian cottage as well as in the ways he interacted with people and worked at knowing himself. Integrity did not make life easy for Brad, but he faced anything that confronted him with bravery and perseverance. He was respected by those who knew him and loved by his family even if occasionally they wanted to smack him. Brad was preceded in death by his parents and his older sister, Margaret. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Tori, two aunts, Dorothy Bradfield of Oak Harbor, and Ruth Peterson of Anacortes, and four cousins, Nina Carter (Sherman) of Oak Harbor, Mimi Martin (Dan) of Lake Stevens, Paul Peterson (Janice) of Anacortes WA, and Marty Gouveia (Paul) of Pleasanton CA. We who knew and loved him wish Brad had found more relaxation and fun in his life, but we also the world needs people with his sense of ethics and responsibility. Tori wishes to thank the caring people at VITAS Hospice for their work and support. In addition, she thanks her neighbor Mike Weber for his generous gift of time and muscle when she needed them both, and her friends, Mike and Debbie Feiler (Mike for his gift of music and Debbie for the gift of herself). Most of all, she is grateful to Karen Freitas for her consistent help with Brad's care as well as her friendship, kindness and understanding. She is grateful to all of those who have provided support during these last difficult months. A gathering to remember Brad will be held at a time to be announced. Those who wish can donate to favorite charity in Brad's name or to Island Cat Rescue of Alameda which Brad said was his favorite charity since it lowered the number of strays Tori tried to adopt. So Brad your time came. You released the star-stuff within and crossed the bar into the cosmos. May you find fair winds and following seas. You truly were gold. Farewell.