Cherlynlavaughn Bradley

Cherlynlavaughn Bradley died August 30, 2014 after a very brief illness. She was a native of Chicago, growing up and attending Proviso East High School in the Broadview-Maywood area. She received her B.A. in Chemistry from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1973 with honors (magna cum laude). While at Illinois Wesleyan University she received the Outstanding Senior Award and the Marple-Schweitzer Award for outstanding achievement in Chemistry. Cherlyn went on to receive both her M.S. and Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University in 1975 and 1978. Her graduate research work was with Dr. A. Louis Allred and dealt with the synthesis, spectroscopic, electrochemical, and surface analysis of linear permethylpolysilanes. Dr. Bradley joined the Analytical Division of the Amoco Corporation in Naperville in 1977 as a research chemist. She rose up the technical ladder to senior research scientist and was responsible for the development and implementation of technology and methods of determining volatile sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen-containing compounds in petroleum and petrochemicals using gas chromatography with element-selective detectors. During her 22 years at Amoco, she was recognized within the company and throughout the petrochemical industry for work in selective GC detection and for trace determination of polymer contaminants. Her research projects in the areas of element-selective GC determinations led to numerous internal company publications and publications in Analytical Chemistry and Energy & Fuels. She contributed to the successful commercial development of an improved microwave plasma GC detector for selective element detection. She also served as the Quality Assurance Coordinator for the Analytical Services Division, analytical liaison and consultant to the refining technology groups, a team member of the refining technology groups' diversity action council, a company recruiter for Northwestern University and an editor of the intercompany technology newsletters. Cherlyn joined the ACS in 1974 and became active in the Chicago Section in 1980. Dr. Bradley earned the Chicago Section of the ACS Distinguished Service Award in 2002. She has also been very active at the National level on many committees. Besides her activities with the ACS, her other professional activities included the Chicago Chromatography Discussion Group (81-90) and ASTM: member (85-present); E-19 Committee on Chromatography (85-88); D-2 Committee on Petroleum Products and Lubricants (85-present); Chairman of D-2 Study Group on GC-Oxygenates (90-98) and of the Ethylene Study Group of Subcommittee D (1993); Liaison and consultant work with California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency on methodologies for meeting oxygenates and low sulfur regulations for reformulated gasoline (94-97). She received a Certificate of Appreciation from the D-2 Committee for work dealing with the development of consensus method for analyzing trace carbonyl sulfide in propylene and for leadership in developing consensus methods for determining oxygenates in gasoline (1994). Dr. Bradley's other achievements included the Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1985 and the Chicago Association of Technological Societies Award of Merit in 1996. Since her retirement from BP in 99, she was an active participant with the BP Volunteers and was the current Chair of the Naperville Chapter. Cherlyn's current volunteer activities included the Court Friends Program, a DuPage County Court program which monitors files of court appointed guardians of disabled adults; special events at Morton Arboretum in Lisle and helping on the BP retirees website taskforce. She was an active member of her church, Saint Eulalia. Cherlyn has been a Bible study leader, church library chair, Parish Council Secretary and was an Eucharistic minister. Dr. Bradley was also a Board member of the North Star Credit Union (1984 to present) and was the Board Secretary (1994 to present). Cherlynlavaughn Bradley is preceded in death by her mother Geneva Bradley and her father LeRoy Bradley. She is survived in death by her cousins Pricilla (Pat) Bradley, Janet Hunter, Luecendia (Annette) Bradley; her Aunt Willie Bell Ammons and Uncle Frank Bradley; best friend Fran Kravitz and husband Daniel Edelman; and other family members. Visitation on Thursday, September 4, 2014 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Wallace Broadview Funeral Home, 2020 W. Roosevelt Rd., Broadview and 10 a.m. on Friday, September 5, 2014 at Saint Eulalia Church, 1851 9th Ave., Maywood followed by the Mass at 10:30 a.m. Interment at Queen of Heavens Catholic Cemetery, 1400 S. Wolf Rd., Hillside, IL. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society Project SEED fund; Saint Eulalia Church of Maywood; The Salesian Missions of New Rochelle, New York; the Society of Missionaries of Africa, Inc. or the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.