James Marion "Jim" Bradley

James "Jim" Marion Bradley of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, passed away on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. He was 76 years old.
Jim was born in Mobile, AL, to Marion and Ethel Mae Bradley. When he was a child, his family relocated to Pensacola, FL, where he spent his formative years attending Pensacola High School and Pensacola Junior College (PJC) before completing his bachelor's degree in computer science at the University of West Florida. He was the first in his family to go to college, and he supported himself during his studies through night shifts at the local blood bank.
Jim often visited his parents' hometown of Coffeeville, AL, where he developed his deep knowledge and love of trees, flowers, birds, and shooting.
In Pensacola, he and his brothers John and Ramsey were known for driving fast cars and sporting fashionable clothes. He met his soon-to-be wife Donna while at PJC, and they married in 1971.
At the start of his career, Jim served on staff for the City of Pensacola, where he worked with early computers that he often described as filling an entire room. The experience sparked an enduring interest in technology and computers, which led Jim into software sales and consulting with companies including KPMG, The Walt Disney Company, BIT, and PeopleSoft.
That career took Jim and Donna to Atlanta, GA, where they welcomed two sons – Ryan and Patrick – before moving to Palm Beach Gardens in the early 90s. His job frequently had him on the road to see clients in places like California, Venezuela, New England, Puerto Rico, and beyond.
Jim later spent brief stints living in Orlando; Dallas, TX; and Pensacola before settling back into the Palm Beach Gardens area in the mid-2000s for the remainder of his life. He ended his career on staff at the Apple Store in the Gardens Mall, surrounded by computers as small as a watch.
Jim never knew a stranger. He could spark conversation with anyone, from Publix cashiers to neighbors while out walking his dog Watson. He had a kind heart and was quick to laugh – even at his own dad jokes. He cherished time with his sons and their children.
As one friend once said of him, he had "a curiosity about everything." In his mid-life, he enjoyed fishing, photography, boating, Civil War history, stock car and drag racing, Navajo art, and trips to the Bahamas. Later in life, he developed interests in astronomy (joining a local stargazing club), local and family history, nature photography, as well as impressionist art. He discovered a talent for art, practicing pen and ink sketching, watercolor, and oil painting of subjects like the Jupiter Inlet, his grandchildren, and neighborhoods in Washington, DC. Some of his work was displayed at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta.
In the last years of his life, Jim persevered through surgeries for his back, prostate cancer, and heart before succumbing to complications following a surgery for diverticulitis. But he still had life in him to live. Only months before his death, he had begun volunteering each week at First United Methodist Church of Jupiter-Tequesta to pack weekend food bags for local children facing hunger.
Jim was predeceased by his parents and older brother Mickey. He is survived by son Ryan Bradley and daughter-in-law Maria Paituvi of Juno Beach, FL; son Patrick Bradley and daughter-in-law Amaris Bradley of Washington, DC; grandchildren Ona and Parker Bradley of Juno Beach, FL; grandchildren Paloma and Cecilia Bradley of Washington, DC; brother John Bradley and sister-in-law Evelyn Bradley of Gulf Breeze, FL; brother Ramsey Bradley of Melbourne, FL; former wife Donna Bradley of Jupiter, FL; dog Watson; as well as nieces, nephews, extended family, friends, and neighbors.
A service and reception will be held at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Tequesta on Friday, June 6, at 4 pm and his remains will be interred later at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palm Beach Gardens.
LIVE STREAM IS AVAIALABLE FOR THE SERVICE Click on the link, https://goodsheponline.org/livestream
Please consider making a donation in his memory to the Lighthouse ArtCenter at https://lighthousearts.org/donate-now/.