Obituary for Albert E. Bradley
Albert E. Bradley, 91, of Coventry, passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 16, 2023, at home surrounded by his family. He was born in Hartford on December 13, 1931, son of the late Raymond H. and Alice (Divine) Bradley, Sr. He was predeceased by his wife, Juliette E. Bradley, and brothers Raymond H Bradley II, Lewis Bradley and Charles Bradley.
He leaves behind his three children, Laurie Bradley (Eric Greenwald) of Coventry, Kevin Bradley of Enfield, Cathy Bradley (Anderson Hall) of Mansfield, and daughter-in-law Lori Carter of Maine, as well as three grandchildren, Jason (Amanda) Bradley of Enfield, Joshua Pinkston (Krystal Stearns) of Windham, Chelsea (Blake) Earick of Marietta, GA, and 5 great grandchildren, Evelyn Bradley, Rowan Bradley, Joshua James Pinkston, Jr., Arya Earick and Summer Earick. He also leaves behind a brother Glenn (Ann) Bradley of Coventry, a sister-in-law Sally Bradley of Wakefield, RI, and many nieces and nephews.
Al was raised in Coventry and attended UConn. He joined the Army while in college and attained the rank of Captain and was an instructor during the Korean War. He also was a Company Commander in the National Guard. He was very proud of his military years, and we were all very grateful for his service. His primary career was spent working at Travelers Insurance Company, after which he was able to enjoy a long, well-deserved retirement.
Al also was very active in town politics and was the Chairman of the Town Council, the Finance Committee, the Human Rights and Opportunities Commission, the Housing Rehab Committee, the Charter Revision Committee, the Senior Center Building Committee, the Ad-hoc Water Supply Committee, and was a Justice of the Peace. One of his greatest achievements was being appointed to the Coventry Housing Authority in 1975 as Chairman of the Board and seeing the construction of 80 units in two separate 40 unit phases come to fruition. He volunteered his time there for 48 years and remained the Chairman of the Coventry Housing Authority until his death.
But most importantly, he loved spending time with his family, especially when we were all together. He was blessed to live long enough to have 5 great grandchildren. Annual family highlights included trips to Old Orchard Beach and gathering for family parties for holidays, birthday, or any random occasion just for a good meal together. Those who knew him knew how much he loved food, especially lobster or a good lobster roll. He also loved to cook and loved to go to restaurants with friends and family. His homemade spaghetti sauce with meatballs was declared THE BEST by anyone who was lucky enough to taste it. We all looked forward to his calls telling us he’d made a batch and it was ready for dinner. As the family grew, so did those batches!
He also loved tending to his gardens and his many blueberry bushes. He started his plants early in his greenhouse each year, and always planted lettuce (as soon as the ground would allow) for his daughter Cathy. We all reaped the benefits of those gardens and were always excited to get buckets of blueberries. He really enjoyed the outdoors and kept up with his lawn meticulously. He never missed a UConn Women’s basketball game on TV and he would always relay the game play by play to us.
His family will receive friends on Saturday, March 4, 2023 starting at 11am at the Coventry-Pietras Funeral Home, 2665 Boston Tpke, Coventry, CT, with a reception to follow at the Coventry Senior Center Lodge on 172 Lake St., Coventry, CT.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Hanger Clinic, 444 Hartford Tpke, Vernon, CT 06066. For online condolences please visit www.pietrasfuneralhome.com.
He leaves behind his three children, Laurie Bradley (Eric Greenwald) of Coventry, Kevin Bradley of Enfield, Cathy Bradley (Anderson Hall) of Mansfield, and daughter-in-law Lori Carter of Maine, as well as three grandchildren, Jason (Amanda) Bradley of Enfield, Joshua Pinkston (Krystal Stearns) of Windham, Chelsea (Blake) Earick of Marietta, GA, and 5 great grandchildren, Evelyn Bradley, Rowan Bradley, Joshua James Pinkston, Jr., Arya Earick and Summer Earick. He also leaves behind a brother Glenn (Ann) Bradley of Coventry, a sister-in-law Sally Bradley of Wakefield, RI, and many nieces and nephews.
Al was raised in Coventry and attended UConn. He joined the Army while in college and attained the rank of Captain and was an instructor during the Korean War. He also was a Company Commander in the National Guard. He was very proud of his military years, and we were all very grateful for his service. His primary career was spent working at Travelers Insurance Company, after which he was able to enjoy a long, well-deserved retirement.
Al also was very active in town politics and was the Chairman of the Town Council, the Finance Committee, the Human Rights and Opportunities Commission, the Housing Rehab Committee, the Charter Revision Committee, the Senior Center Building Committee, the Ad-hoc Water Supply Committee, and was a Justice of the Peace. One of his greatest achievements was being appointed to the Coventry Housing Authority in 1975 as Chairman of the Board and seeing the construction of 80 units in two separate 40 unit phases come to fruition. He volunteered his time there for 48 years and remained the Chairman of the Coventry Housing Authority until his death.
But most importantly, he loved spending time with his family, especially when we were all together. He was blessed to live long enough to have 5 great grandchildren. Annual family highlights included trips to Old Orchard Beach and gathering for family parties for holidays, birthday, or any random occasion just for a good meal together. Those who knew him knew how much he loved food, especially lobster or a good lobster roll. He also loved to cook and loved to go to restaurants with friends and family. His homemade spaghetti sauce with meatballs was declared THE BEST by anyone who was lucky enough to taste it. We all looked forward to his calls telling us he’d made a batch and it was ready for dinner. As the family grew, so did those batches!
He also loved tending to his gardens and his many blueberry bushes. He started his plants early in his greenhouse each year, and always planted lettuce (as soon as the ground would allow) for his daughter Cathy. We all reaped the benefits of those gardens and were always excited to get buckets of blueberries. He really enjoyed the outdoors and kept up with his lawn meticulously. He never missed a UConn Women’s basketball game on TV and he would always relay the game play by play to us.
His family will receive friends on Saturday, March 4, 2023 starting at 11am at the Coventry-Pietras Funeral Home, 2665 Boston Tpke, Coventry, CT, with a reception to follow at the Coventry Senior Center Lodge on 172 Lake St., Coventry, CT.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Hanger Clinic, 444 Hartford Tpke, Vernon, CT 06066. For online condolences please visit www.pietrasfuneralhome.com.