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BORN
1927
DIED
2016
Donald Brady Obituary
Donald E. Brady, 89, of Rockford, Illinois, passed from this world to his heavenly home Friday, September 2, 2016. Born on the only day of the year that issues a command, March 4th, in the year that the last Model T was built, 1927, in Rockford to Casper H. and Berniece (Lynch) Brady. Don married Mary Kromholtz on April 22, 1953, in Rockford. The newspaper man, running the Rockford Labor News for over 50 years, telling no nonsense news stories. Don was a staunch defender of life; always kind, compassionate and helpful to many. Survived by his loving wife, Mary; children, James (Dana) Brady and Teresa (Arthur Carlson) Brady; sister, Colleen Glavin; brother, Robert (Dorothy) Brady; 5 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, September 6, 2016, at St. Bridget Catholic Church, with visitation from 10 until 10:45 a.m. at the church. Burial in Calvary Cemetery. Fitzgerald Funeral Home assisted the family. To express online condolences, please visit: www.fitzgeraldfh.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Donald Brady
6 Entries
September 16, 2016
Ken Nelson
I would love to be in touch with you.
Your tribute to dad is beautiful.
Teresa Brady [email protected]
kathy sitnek-hoff
September 12, 2016
Teresa, So sorry to learn of your dad's passing. He was the most kind, generous, caring human being I have ever known. Loved to see him walk into the Maid-Rite every day!!!
Kathy Sitnek Hoff
Brad Peterson
September 10, 2016
So sorry to hear of Dons passing. I know my dad,(Virgil), and Don,will be in heaven with their Harleys and model A's. May you find peace in the years of memories.
Brad Peterson
Helen Finegan
September 9, 2016
Teresa, Joel and I are sorry to hear of the
death of your father. It is never easy to lose a loved one. Our prayers are with you and your family.
Margaret is so sorry that she was unable to get to the funeral. She sends her prayers as well.
Ken Nelson
September 5, 2016
Don Brady was the ultimate newspaper man. A reporter. An editor. A publisher. A true wordsmith. He wrote the truth and spoke his mind. For many years he and his newspaper were the best friends and biggest supporters of union labor and fairness for workers. Who speaks for them now?
As a reporter and editor there were many who didn't like what Don wrote. Sometimes the truth hurts. I'm sure Don was threatened more than once because of what he wrote.
He learned his trade in the hot metal days of points, picas, ems, and ens....and unexpected Linotype squirts of molten lead, and midnight press breakdowns. Pencils, pens, and a trusty typewriter were the tools of his trade. His presses worked through the night, barely making deadline, but the Labor News always made it to the newsstand.
Don Brady who died last week at the age of 89, was the ultimate union supporter, a craftsman of words. The daily papers of New York, Rockford and Chicago were bigger, but the Labor News held its own when it came to reporting the news.
He ran the Rockford Labor News for almost 50 years, following in the footsteps of famous men like his father, Cap Brady, Samuel Clemens and William Randolph Hearst. Don was outspoken in person and in black and white. With Don you knew where you stood.
Rockford got a little smaller when the Labor News closed a couple years ago. And Rockford lost a big part of its soul when Don died last week. Don Brady, a one-of-a-kind man, in both the realm of a newspapers, and as a man without peer in the tests of life itself.
So, St. Peter at the pearly gates, remake the front page. Don Brady's on his way.
Harriett Ford
September 5, 2016
A remarkable man, Don Brady is known for unwavering generosity, humble dignity, and keen insight into the foibles of humanity, which are always the subject of news. An incredibly skillful wordsmith, he never wavered in his commitment to the dignity of the working man. He never ceased to champion the rights of the unborn child, even if it cost him revenue. Those who have worked with him at the Rockford Labor News, along with his "Mary Girl" at his side, know that He asked nothing but improvement of life for others, and because of that his was a life well lived. That is the meaning of "remarkable." It is also the meaning of nobility.
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