Jesse John Brady, Jr., aged 93, passed away on May 12, 2019. John was born on June 2, 1925 in Austin, Texas to Jesse John Brady, MD and Katheryne Murphy Brady. Much of John’s childhood was spent in Austin’s Travis Heights area. He, his brother and sisters, and neighborhood friends would explore South Austin on horseback, even galloping into the Colorado River for a swim. He attended St. Mary’s Parochial School, John T. Allen Junior High, and Stephen F. Austin High, where he played flute and piccolo in the band. After service in the U.S. Army in World War II, John married Dolores Nan (Nancy) Polk on June 1, 1946; they had met on a blind date to an Austin High football game while he was on leave from the army in 1945. Soon after their marriage, John entered The University of Texas on the G.I. bill and was awarded his law degree in August, 1949.
Having a strong sense of right and wrong, John was dedicated to seeking legal justice for all during his long and fulfilling career. In December, 1949 he was appointed as an Assistant District Attorney for Travis County; he tried felony cases in the District Courts for two years. He entered private practice in 1951, representing clients in both civil and criminal cases until 1973. He also served as a relief judge for the City of Austin Municipal Court during those years. In 1967 he was appointed United States Magistrate for the Western District of Texas; from 1973 until 1974 he was appointed Presiding Judge of the Austin Municipal Court. Following that service, John acted as the sole attorney for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, and then in 1980 he was appointed as Chief Administrative Law Judge for the State Board of Insurance. He retired from employment with the State of Texas in 1985.
John and Nancy Brady raised four children in the Travis Heights neighborhood he had loved since childhood: Margaret, John III, Susan, and Dorothy. John was dedicated to his Catholic faith, a lifetime source of joy and solace. He was an active member of the St. Ignatius Catholic Church parish and served on its leadership committee that helped fund and erect both a new church building and an elementary school. John enjoyed reading, especially about the Civil War, John F. Kennedy, and Abraham Lincoln; meticulously tending his home’s lawn and garden; and taking his children on jaunts to the San Antonio zoo. In his retirement years, he walked the Stacey Park hiking trail every morning, reveling in the company of friends, neighbors, and their dogs.
John is survived by his brother, Peter Brady of Austin, Texas; sister, Mary Rose Petr of San Antonio, Texas; children, Margaret Brady of Salt Lake City, Utah; Susan Brady and her husband Mark Loeffler, of North Haven, Connecticut; and Dorothy Brady of Austin, Texas; grandchildren, Edward Stanley of San Francisco, California, and Kathryn Stanley of Seattle, Washington, and numerous nieces and nephews and their children. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Jesse John and Katheryne Brady; sisters, Katheryne Lee Choate and Frances (Mickey) Underwood; brother, James; his wife, Dolores Nan (Nancy) Brady; and son, Jesse John Brady III.
John’s family thanks the doctors, nurses, and staff at the Harbor at Buckner and the team from Hospice Austin, whose attentive and gentle care gave him comfort in his later years.
For those who wish to make a donation in John’s memory, please consider an animal rescue organization such as the Austin Animal Center (www.austintexas.gov/department/aac) or the charity of your choice.
Visitation and Rosary on Thursday, May 16 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish South funeral home, 2620 South Congress Avenue. Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 17 at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 126 W. Oltorf Street, followed by interment at Assumption Cemetery, 3650 S. IH-35 Frontage Road.
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