Bradley Dewayne Hetrick

Bradley Dewayne Hetrick was born on June 12, 1953, in Norfolk, Virginia, the third son of Robert (Bob) E. Hetrick and Doris J. Mann. He went by the name of Brad. He graduated from Magnolia High School in Garden Grove, California in 1972 then was in the U. S. Navy in 1973 during the Vietnam war.

He claimed to be a “jack of many trades.” During high school he worked at McDonald’s and a convalescent hospital. Later he worked as a cabinet maker in a mobile home factory, maintenance at Anaheim General Hospital, about eight years as a cab driver in Riverside, California and also in Brooklyn, New York, a crane operator in a wrecking scrap yard and he also did window installations and traveled the north eastern states where he helped build a shelter for the homeless.

Brad went to New York in 1977 and returned to Riverside in 1982. After five years he went back to New York. Then in 1990, Brad and his dog, a Spaniel Datsun named Rainbow, hitchhiked back to Riverside – it took two weeks. Then he became homeless for about three years. One night in 1993, while he was sleeping under the front steps of City Hall, a brown recluse spider bit him and he ended up in the Veteran’s Administration hospital. That led him to living in board and care homes for about three years. Then for the next three years he and a girl friend lived in motels working as motel managers that last year. By the year 2000, Brad moved into a studio apartment in Riverside by himself and lived in apartments in the Riverside area for the rest of his life. He had a grey cat named Shadow for several years. About ten or so years later he became wheelchair bound yet remained very independent.

Brad would ride the bus system and/or ride/drive his wheelchair to stores and wherever he wanted to go. He was very social, making friends with people on the bus and bus drivers, stores and restaurants and the favorite bars he frequented. His friends would give him surprise birthday parties and made sure he got Christmas presents. And were there for him during times of need, such as electrical black outs that would last for several days at a time.

Brad’s father taught him how to do maintenance on vehicles: change the oil and change tires, etc. He was good at working with electronic devises he used, TVs, VCR’s, etc. Brad was a good cook. He had a great 3-Bean Chili recipe and would create recipes. He loved his beer and to watch movies. He had a phenomenal collection of movies; first VHS then DVD’s, about 1000 of them. He kept his favorite movies on bookshelves in his living room and the rest in boxes. He loved to watch the Friday night wrestling on TV. On the last Friday of his life, the rehabilitation center he was in brought in a big screen TV for him to watch the wrestling match. He passed away on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, in Riverside.