Mr. James Gerard Bradley

James Gerard (Jim) Bradley was born February 24, 1933 in Peakes, Prince Edward Island. After a long and couragous battle with cancer, he passed away September 21, 2009 at Bridgepoint Health Centre, Toronto, Ontario.

Some Reflections from Sharon Myers-Bradley

Remembering Jim Bradley is a happy task for me. At the time of Jim's funeral, Father Busch asked me to put together some special stories and memories of Jim so that he could get a fuller sense of who he was in our family. I decided to include those notes here for others to reflect on. The following comments are not meant to constitute the biography of James Bradley. Rather, they reflect my memories of Jim over our twenty years of friendship.

Jim left Prince Edward Island nearly sixty years ago and made his life in Toronto, Ontario. His initial years in the city were difficult ones, but eventually he resolved his personal struggles and came to live a very productive and rewarding life. He was very proud of his city, his Cathedral, and sometimes, his Blue Jays. He made many great friends in Toronto, especially Pat Hogan, who made Jim part of his extended family.

While he maintained some contact with family and friends back home, it was not until 1989 that he really re-connected with the Island. That year marked the beginning of his annual visits to P.E.I. during which he stayed with John and I and got reacquainted with his old community.

Initially, these were summer trips during which he spent time visiting, enjoying the Island Celtic music scene, attending concerts and plays, and sampling a variety of restaurants. He especially enjoyed the simple pleasures--walking barefoot on the beach at Dalvay, taking a ride in a golf cart at Crowbush Cove, attending an auction, and eating fresh lobster. Jim was past fifty years of age when he was able to enjoy these things for the very first time. However, he was never one to focus on what he had missed out on in his life. Rather, he cherished the opportunities he was able to have when they came his way.

Jim was passionate about his likes and dislikes. He loved music, baseball, and cats. He hated bragging, showing-off, and vegetables. I have never heard someone speak of something as innocuous as lettuce with such contempt! He enjoyed discussing books, politics and world affairs. He displayed a broad interest in and knowledge of popular culture. Often, he would astonish John with his awareness of celebrities and their stories. Recently, when Michael Jackson died, Jim told John that while he was not a fan of Michael, he thought the "Moonwalk" was quite an accomplishment. John later reported, "I had absolutely no idea what that was or how Jim would even know about it."

While the summer trips were very social and lots of fun, Jim's holidays to P.E.I. eventually came to occur in the month of October. It was then that he and brothers Leo and John spent time together hunting Canada Geese, ducks and partridge. Jim loved this event and valued it highly. With Leo as the official videographer, the brothers trudged the fields and ponds of Kings County looking for opportunities to hunt. I have many memories of these annual visits; specifically the preparation and frequent forgetting of lunches for the outings, Jim's disastrous experiment with Chai tea in the thermoses, John and Jim "losing " Leo more than once, and the regretful stories of shots that were missed. Each year I was commissioned to take the official photo of brothers and (hopefully) their game. Sometimes we capped off the week with a "wild" dinner and an evening of music from our performer friends. These were times of great delight for Jim.

Another memory which I have that relates to their hunting was the time Jim became so annoyed when his sisters from the U.S.A. tried to coordinate an autumn holiday to P.E.I along with the brothers' hunting trip. Jim was furious with their suggestions that he might adjust his travel dates to accommodate them. For Jim, it was absolutely essential that he be on the Island for the first day of the black duck season. His sisters, Nellie, Marcie, and Peggy, could not understand why he was so focused on this particular date and these particular black ducks. Apparently they were unaware that the "Black Duck" is a species of waterfowl--as opposed to being simply a colour of bird. This lack of knowledge infuriated Jim and he would go on and on about his frustrations. Repeatedly, he told me, "My God, you'd think those girls would know better. They grew up on the Island. Especially Nellie, you'd think she'd know what a black duck is." Eventually all was resolved and the girls' lack of knowledge was incorporated into one of the family stories. But, whenever it was re-counted, Jim would display the same intense amazement that his sisters could possibly be so uninformed. And, he would always end by saying, "Especially Nellie, you'd think she'd know..."

Perhaps because they were so close in age and because they both made their homes in Ontario, Jim and his late sister Frances were extremely close. He would often recall both happy and sad childhood memories of times when most of the other siblings had left home. There was something in the way he spoke about such times that suggested that he and Frances had a real empathy for each other.

Although quiet and unassuming, Jim could be extremely stubborn and rigid. On one of his summer visits his late sister Pat was arranging his schedule around her plans to go blueberry picking. Pat was very directive and she believed the blueberry picking to be an outing in and of itself. Jim considered it to be tedious work. Reluctantly he went along with her plan on one day and did his part of the picking, However, when Pat started making plans for the next day, Jim was adamant: "I'm all done with the blueberries. I had enough of that as a kid when I had no choice. That's it." Jim stood his ground with Pat which was quite a feat because Pat was known to be quite a forceful individual in her own right. Indeed, there is a photo in this memorial of the siblings on their return from that last blueberry expedition. Pat used to refer to this photo as the Bradley version of the Beverly Hillbillies. It was always a joke that Jim was caught in a photograph looking so casual.

Jim's annual visits to P.E.I. were marker events for him and a source of great enjoyment for us. Not only did he re-connect with his Island roots, he made many new fiends and participated in a wide range of new experiences. He was a delightful visitor--unobtrusive, generous, and genuine. He was a gentle spirit, a warm heart, and a person of integrity.

When speaking of people whom he regarded highly, Jim would often say that person "has class." Coming from Jim, that was the highest compliment. About two weeks before his death, Jim told John and me, "Class isn't something that you try to show with a lot of flash; it's something that you have."

For me, Jim Bradley was a class act.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Funeral Service (long version)

The Memorial Mass for James Gerard (Jim) Bradley of Toronto, Ontario, was held on September 25, 2009 from the Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home to St. Michael's Cathedral. Jim was formerly of Peakes, Prince Edward Island. He was the beloved son of Urban Bradley and Margaret Hughes and dear brother of Nellie (Verner), John Bradley, Marcella (Zelazny), Peggy (Rothermal), and Leo Bradley. Jim was predeceased by his siblings Patricia (MacDonald), Frances (Christie), Fred, Urban, and infant siblings, Angela and Jimmy.

The chief celebrant was Father Michael Busch, Rector of St. Michael's Cathedral. Co-celebrants included Msgr. Sam Bianco, Father Seamus Hogan, Msgr. Marco Laurencic, Father Larry Marcille, Father Edward McGovern, Msgr. Robert Nusca, Father Guenter Petricek, Msgr. Kenneth Robitalle, and Father Paul Zimmer. Father Busch proclaimed the Gospel and delivered the Homily.

The first reading, from the Book of Ecclesiastes, along with the prayers of the faithful, were offered by Jane Cummings. The second reading, from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, was delivered by Patrick Hogan. The music was provided by members of the St. Michael's Boys' Choir. The Entrance Hymn was How Great Thou Art; the Psalm, The Lord is My Shepherd; the offertory Ave Maria; Communion, The Prayer of St. Francis; the Song of Farewell, Amazing Grace; and Recessional, Sing With All The Saints In Glory.

Following the Memorial Mass, a reception was held at St. Michael's Parish Hall during which people exchanged fond memories about Jim and recalled his warm and genuine nature. Subsequently, Jim's ashes were returned to Prince Edward Island where they were distributed in treasured spots, according to his personal wishes.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Following is the Homily offered by Father Michael Busch, Rector of St. Michael's Cathedral: September, 25, 2009.

We live in a time when the most important things in life are money, power, and fame. We dedicate our entire lives to the acquisition of these precious things, and we will let nothing or no one stand in our way of acquiring them. Our quest for these things often makes us selfish and self centred. We put ourselves first, we owe nothing to anyone, and we have no time for those who cannot help us achieve what we want. We are so caught up in this way of living that we cannot imagine any other way to live.

But sometimes we come across someone who does live a different way, a way that shows us what truly matters most in life is faithfulness and dedication. Not as a means to acquire money, power or fame, not as a way to our own narrow and selfish goals, but because they know that faithfulness and dedication helps us to fulfill our responsibilities to God and to others. They understand that each of us must care for not only ourselves but for others and that we are judged by our faithfulness and our dedication to God and to others and that we are judged by our faithfulness and our dedication to those talents and gifts, people and things, that God places in our hands.

Faithfulness and dedication can cost us a lot. Life is not always an easy road; it can be hard and even cruel at times. We may lose our talents or be unable to fulfill our goals because of illness or loss of income. We can be tempted to live just for ourselves, to ignore others, or to use them to get what we want out of life. But if we wish to remain faithful and dedicated people of God we may have to put our own wishes, comforts, interests, and pleasures in second place. We may have to set aside what we want in order to dedicate ourselves to our husband or children, to our church and even to God.

Jim Bradley knew that and he lived it. He began work here at St. Michael's Cathedral in September, 1981. He retired in 1999, but continued to work for us part-time up until October of last year. Even in times of grave illness, during his 28 years of service, Jim's dedication and faithfulness was not a grim duty he felt compelled to complete. It was one of joy and of happiness. That was because Jim not only gave us his time, he gave us himself. He was a very important part of this Cathedral family and he touched the lives of many people, priest and parishioner alike.

Jim had to overcome many battles in his life. One of the things that helped him to persevere was his strong connection to his family in Prince Edward Island. Those visits back home allowed him to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like walking barefoot on the beach, listening to music and hunting with brothers Leo and John. Jim was never one to focus on what he had missed out on in life; instead he cherished the new opportunities he was given.

Even when he suffered through heart problems and cancer, Jim remained a quiet, unobtrusive, generous and kind man. Through it all his faith in Christ remained strong, and it was that faith that came through in the way he lived. If even half the trials that Jim had faced had happened to us, how would we have coped? What would we have done? How many of us would have become angry, or bitter, or given up in despair?

We might have, but Jim didn't. He remained faithful and dedicated to his beliefs. He knew that the things he had to endure were a part of life and with the help of God he could endure them all and still be useful. Right up to the end Jim went on sharing himself with others. He was a lovable, graceful, peaceful and joyful disciple of Christ and a great example to us all of the rewards of faithfulness and dedication.

If we remain faithful and dedicated, and trust that God will reward us, then nothing, not loss of income, not illness, not even death is likely to hold any terrors for us. Christ himself was a faithful and dedicated servant. He was faithful to God his father and dedicated to the task that God had given him. He, too, suffered greatly and still kept on giving of himself. On the night before he died he looked up to heaven and he said, "Father, I have finished the work you gave me to do." I bet those words were in Jim's heart when he died.

Jim would often say about people who he highly regarded that they had "class". He said that "class" was not something you show, it was something you had. He was not a corporate executive, he did not live in a big mansion, he was not adored by millions of fans. He was a simple dedicated servant of Christ who did his job faithfully, and who was fully dedicated to this Cathedral family. God knows all that Jim has been through and all that he has done and so I believe God will give Jim the greatest reward any of us can hope for, a place in His kingdom.

Jim has shown us what real class is and how to practise it in ordinary, everyday ways. He was one of those who found their deepest satisfaction in life not by being the centre of attention, but by being a part of something greater than himself. I saw it in the smiles, laughter and conversation we shared with him every Monday. His simple unselfish nature made him an agent of God's love and providence, and his simple witness was a sign of Christ's presence among us, and the continuing love God has for his people. Jim is an example to all of us who chase those elusive rewards of money, power, and fame, [a reminder] that the greatest reward we can ever hope for comes from our faithful and dedicated witness to the love of Christ.

To close one's heart is to begin to die. To open one's heart is to begin to live. Those who remain faithful in love and dedicate their lives in service to God and their neighbour are already saved. To them Christ will say, "Come O blessed of my father, inherit the Kingdom that is prepared for you." May our brother Jim hear these words today.