Robert Gerald "Jerry" Bradshaw

Jerry Bradshaw, age 91, of Sacramento, California, passed away on Thursday, September 4, 2025. His official name was Robert Gerald, but his grandmother nicknamed him Jerry and it stuck his whole life.

Anyone who knew Jerry, knew that he was a kind and caring man. He liked to smile, he liked to laugh and he liked soup. He liked soup a lot… nearly any kind. But he liked ice cream even more. Leatherby’s was a favorite destination, but a Frosty at Wendy’s couldn’t be topped. Jerry was a decorated Air Force officer and lifelong lover of airplanes and flight. His life was marked by commitment, curiosity and kindness.

Jerry was born on September 6, 1933, in Birmingham, Alabama. His father was a baker and his mother was a housewife. He began school in Birmingham before moving to Selma, Alabama, in the fifth grade. Raised primarily by his mother and grandmother, he was brought up with strong Southern values that remained with him throughout his life. In Selma, his father owned and operated Bradshaw’s Bakery where Jerry also helped by making donuts and making deliveries on his bike.

As young as 8, he started building model airplanes. He won his first competition prize at 13. His first trophy was won at 14 while attending Albert G. Parrish High School. His family was very proud of his accomplishments. A neighbor, who was in the Air Force, also saw his talent and passion for airplanes and took him under his wing (no pun intended). Mr. Price had his own single engine aircraft and taught Jerry how to fly. At the age of 19, Jerry made 12 practice flights, including a solo flight with the intention to obtain his pilot’s license. This unfortunately never came to fruition as one day Jerry woke up to find that his mentor had left suddenly. No one ever knew why. This was crushing for Jerry to lose someone who had invested so much in him, but the experience brought him one step closer to realizing his dream of flying.

Graduation from high school came in 1953, and he went on to study at the University of Alabama for one year before enlisting in the Air Force Cadets in October 1954. He still wanted to become a pilot. At that time, 20/20 vision was a requirement, which he learned he did not have. If he wanted to fly, his option was to become a navigator instead. He received his wings and commission as a second lieutenant in May 1956 at Ellington AFB in Houston, Texas, following the completion of Navigation training. He then travelled to James Conley AFB in Waco for Navigator radar training and then to Moody AFB in Georgia for jet training.

Hobby and career were successfully combined when Jerry competed on Air Force teams with his model planes. By 1961, he had amassed over 40+ awards (solo and Air Force teams) at both national and international competitions. Although he competed in various categories, he focused his skills on setting speed records well into the 70s.

In November 1963, he met and fell in love with Maureen Mellon whom he later married on May 1, 1965, at McClellan AFB where he was then stationed. Ten months later, Mark Robert was born to the proud couple.

From June 1965 to October 1965, Captain Bradshaw flew as a combat crew member in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war. He received The Air Medal for outstanding airmanship and courage during extremely hazardous conditions including the possibility of hostile ground fire.

In 1966, Jerry was stationed in England to work at a BMEWS (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System) site. Maureen and Mark completed the young family. After this tour of 3 years they were stationed back at McClellan AFB.

Due to a Reduction In Force, Jerry made the difficult decision to re-enlist as an NCO (non-commissioned officer) in 1970. Until his retirement, he worked at and later led the Audio Visual Library at McClellan. During this period he received two Air Force commendation medals for outstanding professional skill, knowledge and leadership. “The outstanding result of his daily and zealous efforts have brought Sgt. Bradshaw the highest praise.”

In 1975, Jennifer Lynn arrived much to the joy of the couple who had been trying for years to grow their family.

In 1977, Jerry retired at the rank of Major. Over the course of his 23 year career with the Air Force, he earned the aeronautical ratings of Senior Navigator and Senior Weapons Controller. In addition to receiving The Air Medal and several Air Force Commendation Medals, he received the Combat Readiness Medal, and numerous theater, campaign and service medals. His assignments took him across the globe - including tours in Labrador, England and Vietnam - as well as many of our 50 states, where he served with distinction.

After retiring, Jerry continued to pursue his many interests. He was always Mr. Fix-It around the house. You name it, he tried to fix it. And this was before the time you could watch a YouTube video on how to do something. He had repair manuals for the cars, but he enjoyed working on the simple mechanics of an engine. He loved working on the lawnmower or chainsaw or snowblower. He loved the simplicity of the Volkswagens that he had in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

In addition to engines, he loved working with wood and metal. He meticulously built his own model airplanes, bunk beds for Mark, a dollhouse for Jennifer, a stereo cabinet for the hi-fi, wind chimes for the yard, stained glass lamps for the house, games and puzzles for friends and family and anything in between. He was a true craftsman. He also liked electrical work. He added wiring and lamps and ceiling fans in the house also sharing his knowledge with Mark and Jennifer whenever he could. He also helped his father the baker try to develop a prototype of a new hot dog bun pan for industrial use which his father had been granted a patent for. Jerry made a pan out of sheet metal and even took it to a local bakery for testing. It was a good opportunity for the two to work on a project together before his father passed in 1987.

He regularly spent the summer with Maureen and the kids in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where Maureen grew up. He loved spending time with ‘Pop’ his father-in-law on the Farm. He busied himself with fixing anything that was broken or helping Pop with projects and chores around the Farm. And he enjoyed picking strawberries with Maureen at Pellegrini’s strawberry patch.

Jerry also had two phases with photography. In the 60s he enjoyed taking pictures and having them developed as slides. He loved having slideshows at home. Later in life he discovered digital photography and literally took thousands of pictures and enjoyed looking at them.

Movies were another highlight for Jerry. He enjoyed watching classic cliffhanger films as a kid. He also made 8mm and 16mm movies in the 50s and 60s while stationed at different locations in the Air Force and continued with making family movies when Mark was young. In the 80s, when VHS tapes became popular, he took Jennifer to the video store nearly every week to pick out the latest film. They enjoyed watching the movies together with popcorn or ice cream and maybe a cat or two. He also taped anything interesting on TV from period pieces on PBS for Jennifer to mysteries for Maureen - he loved it all and enjoyed watching things together with the family.

While Jennifer was in grade school and again during high school, Jerry was a regular chauffeur, taking her and her carpool friends to and from school. He also helped Jennifer with her homework while Maureen was taking classes and working on assignments of her own, as she was pursuing a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s degree. He was especially helpful with math and science homework, as well as special projects where building or creativity were involved. During Jennifer’s physics course in high school, he helped her to build a musical instrument - a harp of sorts fashioned out of decorative plywood that was left over from a remodelling project for the house. This instrument helped Jennifer to pass the course, which was not an easy subject for her.

He had a keen mind for technology and enjoyed working with computers long before they became the norm. He helped many people with their computers by updating software, removing viruses and replacing hard drives. He even helped a local school with their computer program. The house was full of used computers, parts, drives, printers, scanners and disks with hopes of helping someone with a needed spare part. Most of these devices and parts he found at different thrifts stores. He loved discovering unwanted pieces in the hope of using them one day.

In 2005, nearly 40 years later, he returned to Europe with Maureen. The destination this time was Germany to visit and spend time with Mark who lived there. They returned again in 2006 and 2009. He loved taking pictures, watching the planes landing at Frankfurt Airport, riding on the Autobahn, seeing new sites and visiting Mark’s friends.

He also loved Disneyland. His first trip was with his father in 1955, when the park first opened. But he also loved theme parks in general. There was an annual family trip to Marriott’s Great America when the kids were still at home. Maureen stayed on the sidelines and Jerry and Jennifer rode all the rides.

His love was reborn when he and Jennifer went on three trips to Disneyland for his 80th, 85th and 86th birthdays. He was a little kid all over again riding the rides, singing the songs and meeting the characters. His favorite ride was Soarin’ where the ‘passengers’ experience flying over many different locations. The big smile on his face at the beginning of this memoir is him getting ready for takeoff on ‘Soarin’.

He loved animals as well. In his later years, he loved watching the birds come into the yard and seeing possums and racoons eating the food left for them on the patio. It surely reminded him of the time when he kept a racoon as a pet when he still lived with his parents in Alabama. He fed the squirrels every day and he enjoyed petting the family cats. It was good therapy for him - and the kitties liked it too.

A man of quiet faith throughout his life, Jerry was raised and baptized as a Presbyterian. As an adult, he attended a Nazarene church for many years after accepting Christ in 1979, with the help of the pastor who was also his neighbor. In the mid 1990s, he converted to Catholicism - a decision that brought him great peace and fulfillment. He regularly attended daily Mass with Maureen, prayer groups, healing services and served as a Eucharistic Minister.

After he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2022, his mental decline was slow but steady. By the time Maureen passed in 2024, he had lost the ability to remember most things, including her passing. One thing was consistent though, much to their pleasure - he still remembered who Mark and Jennifer were. Shortly before Maureen’s passing, he became a Memory Care resident. The staff loved his gentle spirit and how polite he was to them. He was always respectful, addressing them as “ma’am” or “sir,” and saying “please” or “thank you.” This was all part of his upbringing in the South and his training to become an officer which he never lost.

His decline was unexpected and rapid. Jerry went into the hospital in the middle of July and was there 10 days. He spent the next month in skilled nursing and then Jennifer and her husband Robert took care of him in their home for his last 9 days with the help of hospice and in-home health care.

Jerry is survived by his children, Mark and Jennifer; son-in-law, Robert; and sister-in-law, Barbara. Jerry was preceded in death last year by his loving wife, Maureen. Many years have passed since he lost his parents, Brad and Katie; stepmother, Fannie; father-in-law and mother-in-law, ‘Pop’ Ed and Ruth; and brother-in-law, Michael. More recently he lost his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Susie and Don.

Robert Gerald “Jerry” Bradshaw leaves behind a legacy of honor through service to country, love of family and faith. He spent over 59 years together with Maureen and he would have done anything for Mark and Jennifer.

Above all, he lived a life full of kindness toward others. In his absence, may his memory, may his smile, may his infectious laugh bring comfort to those who knew him.

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We, his children, want to thank all who have cared about and cared for Jerry, especially in the last years of his life. Thank you also for supporting us!

In lieu of flowers and/or gifts please consider supporting a charitable organization of your choice. Thank you.

- Mark and Jennifer