William J. Bradbury

William J. Bradbury, 91, formerly of Trucksville, passed away Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, at the UPMC Altoona. He resided at The Winds at Mattern Orchard, an assisted living facility, in Hollidaysburg.

Born in Luzerne on Oct. 17, 1921, he was a son of William and Elizabeth Bradbury.

He graduated from Luzerne High School. He worked at Kingston Provision in high school and continued working there in between active duty military assignments and attending various colleges until 1947. He was a member of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve Corps in 1942. The following year, he received orders to the U.S. Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet. While stationed in El Reno, Okla., flying his favorite aircraft, the Stearman, he married his sweetheart, Martha, a U.S. Army nurse from Luzerne.

He earned his flight officer (warrant) designation in May 1945, training B-25 pilots and bombardiers at Carlsbad, N.M., until his honorable discharge in November.

He graduated from Lincoln Chiropractic College in Indianapolis in 1949. Returning to the area, he joined the practice of Dr. Van Loon and subsequently started his own practice in Trucksville.

He worked as a corrections officer/infirmary supervisor at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas from 1960 until he retired in 1982. He enjoyed his retirement, working part-time for several years for his friend, Bill Wentz, at his print and die shop in Dallas.

He attended Trucksville United Methodist church. He was also a 50-year member of George M. Dallas Masonic Lodge, Caldwell Consistory A.A.S.R., Irem Temple and the VFW. He volunteered with the Kingston Township Ambulance Association.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Martha Revalene Hendershot Bradbury, on April 21, 1991; brothers, Joseph and Lewis; sister, Edith; and special friend, Layiah Martin.

He is survived by his son, William and his wife, Cynthia, Boise, Idaho; daughter, Karen Allen and her husband, Barry, Hollidaysburg; grandchildren, Rachel Allen and her husband, Jeff Dickson, Burlington, Vt., and Erin Allen, Richmond, Va.; sister, Rowena Jones, Hazleton; close relatives, Jean Scovill, York, Lois and Shirley VanBuskirk, York; and nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held, at the family's convenience, for family and friends.

Arrangements are by E. Merrill Smith Funeral Home, Altoona.