Robert Randel Bradshaw

BRADSHAW, Robert Randel Robert Randel Bradshaw died Sunday, January 14, 2018. Bob passed away peacefully in his sleep, at home, with his wife Leslie Odil Bradshaw by his side. He was 81. Bob, known for his intelligence and acute, dry wit, was a self-described "Borger Boy," having grown up in Borger, Texas, outside of Amarillo. There he became a Boy Scout, both literally and figuratively and, with the help of his father, developed a sense of ethics and integrity that served him personally and professionally throughout his life. Bob attended high school at New Mexico Military Institute, then Rice University for one year before deciding that "slide-rule life" was not for him. Friends convinced him that The University of Oklahoma was a lot more fun, so he transferred, joining Phi Delta Theta and ROTC. An inveterate storyteller, Bob often recounted how he became a lawyer quite by accident. He was leaving OU when he came across a recruiting table where he was promised a military deferment if he went to law school. He jumped at the chance and headed to Southern Methodist University (SMU) for his law degree. When he graduated in 1960, Bob joined the United States Air Force and became a JAG (Judge Advocate General). He was stationed outside of Chicago and, later, Ankara, Turkey. Bob enjoyed his military service and was grateful to Uncle Sam for providing extensive travel opportunities and the Officers Club. Bob practiced law in Amarillo and Dallas before joining his boyhood friend from Borger, Jon Coffee, in 1970 in a law firm that would later become Coffee, Goldston and Bradshaw. It was there that he met his future wife, Leslie, although their love story wouldn't fully play out until some years later. Bob continued to practice law in Austin until he retired. An avid reader, Bob enjoyed learning about everything from history to philosophy. He was a gentleman and a gentle man who lived his life with style and grace, and whose kindness and quiet humor inspired joy and fun in those who knew him. He had a love for jazz, his wife, and his dog Wolf, who no doubt awaited him as he crossed that proverbial bridge. Bob is survived by wife Leslie Odil Bradshaw, sister Marion Lucille "Bobbe" Wood, and nephew Robert Charles Berwick (both of Colorado), along with grand nephews and nieces Brian Robert Berwick, Jennifer Lynn Shepard, and Julie Ann Wagner. He is also survived by step-children Lisa Kocen and John Slimp and wife Tatyana, as well as numerous step grandchildren, all of Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert Marion Bradshaw and Edna Lucille Jones Bradshaw, and by his sister Elizabeth Bradshaw, of Borger, Texas. A celebration of Bob's life will be held at 11:00 am, Friday February 2, 2018 at Unity Church of the Hills, 9905 Anderson Mill Rd., Austin, Texas, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Austin Humane Society, Michael J Fox Foundation, or Power for Parkinsons.