Roger Gilbert Bradley

Roger Gilbert Bradley was the first of two children born to Elvie and Sallie Patterson Bradley on December 27, 1918 in Pulaski, Tennessee. The parents moved with Roger and his sister Bonnie to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1922.

There, he attended public school including Crispus Attucks High School. At a young age, he committed his life to Christ and was baptized at Mt. Paran Baptist Church. He moved his membership to Mt. Olive Baptist Church where he faithfully served for more than 30 years.

In 1945 he and Gladys Armstrong married. From this union they were blessed with three children – Valerie Jo, Don Gilbert, and Roger Elliott. They worked hard to provide enriching and wholesome activities for their children, and a well-rounded family life.

Roger worked as a butcher at Hygrade Meat Packing Company for 20 years when the company moved the operation permanently to Texas. This was a trying time for a man in his late 40s with two children enrolled in college, but with the support of his wife and faith that his God would bring him through, he persevered. After a year he obtained a full-time job working in Truck and Bus at Chevrolet and retired in1983 as a Shop Steward.

The home he and his family lived in for nearly 35 years was seized under imminent domain as part of the area’s urban renewal plan. Surprisingly, the Bradley’s decided to move to Harlem with their daughter. Roger immediately affiliated with Canaan Baptist Church and got active in the Pulpit Aid Club, the Baptist Training Union, and the Kitchen Committee. He also was active in the West 120th Street Block Assn. for which he organized a block patrol of men to keep drug traffic out, and served as Treasurer. He was ordained a deacon in 1987. In 1988 his wife of 43 years quietly passed away in his arms.

He threw himself into work at the church to ease his sense of loss. As fate would have it, he met Ernestine Jones, who attracted him because she possessed the same zeal as he for carrying out the Lord’s work. In 1991 they were joined in Holy matrimony. Ernestine was ordained a deacon shortly after they married and together they diligently communed their parish sick and shut-ins on First Sundays, faithfully prepared the communion trays, and prepared delicious meals for special church celebrations. One of the highlights of his life was his trip in the late 1990s to the Holy Land led by Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker.

Roger was a kind and gentle man. He rarely spoke an ill word about anyone. An optimist at heart, he always identified the best in a person and a situation. He was a devoted husband, loving father, doting grandfather, loyal friend, child of God and most of all, a good man. Through his extended illness, his wife Ernestine remained by his side, lovingly ministering to his every need. And when he went to Calvary Hospital, she rarely missed a day visiting him during his five month stay there. When the Death Angel came down to lead him home, she was there to see him off.

Roger leaves to cherish his memory his devoted wife, daughter and only surviving child, four grandchildren – Valerie Franklin (Damon), Donielle, Roger Ja’ Mar and Dorain Moore (Nicole), niece Shirley Nichols, nephew Mickey Armstrong, 13 great grandchildren, stepdaughter Rebecca Pointzes and her three children Valance (Ashante) and Darryl Jones (Tammie), and Monique Mitchell (Michael), brother-in-law Atmust Jones (Jeannette), two sister-in-laws Ruth Maynard and Neomi Mills, and a host of relatives and friends.