Sally Sue Bradley

Sally Sue Bradley, née Sheffield, age 81, passed away on April 15, 2026, in LaGrange, Georgia, after battling ALS for a few months. She was born on November 17, 1944, in LaGrange and was the daughter of the late Leonard B. Sheffield Jr. and the late Patricia Hennessy Hopkins.

Sally Sue was an intelligent woman who had a passion for learning. That passion started at LaGrange High School where she was on the All A Honor Roll every year, a member of the National Honor Society, President of the Future Teachers Club, Business Manager of the Granger (yearbook), and was selected as a percussionist for the All-State Band for two years. Her post-secondary education began at Emory University where she was the president of the Student Nurses Association and started a program to educate the public about cancer statistics. She went on to become a Registered Nurse and earned six college degrees with the highest being an Ed.S in Adult Education from the University of Georgia.

She worked in the nursing field for over 40 years. She was a Public Health Nurse and Senior Health Educator for the Georgia Division of Public Health, an Overhouse Supervisor at Peachtree Regional Hospital and Fayette Community Hospital, Community Health Nurse at Fort McPherson, a Clinical Instructor at Griffin Tech and Gordon College, and executive director/founder of Canine Vision (a guide dog school). In these roles she wrote over 35 educational pamphlets and five health education books. Throughout her career, she received many awards and was recognized by Georgia’s Secretary of State for contributions to health care, received a Commander’s Coin for contributions to the U.S. Army, and was selected in the first group of women to be included in Eckerd Salute to Women: Extraordinary Stories of 100 Volunteers. She served her country first by joining the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) as a nursing student during the Vietnam Era and then later by joining the Georgia Army National Guard as a nurse.

Sally Sue organized “Glasses for Atlanta’s Homeless,” and after Celestine Sibley wrote about the project in the Atlanta Constitution, over 9,000 eyeglasses were donated. Sally Sue set up various sites around Atlanta and approximately 5,000 people received a vision screening and a set of glasses. The program caught the attention of the Atlanta Lions Club, and she was the first woman to be inducted as a Lion in that club.

Sally Sue loved researching her family lineage and was a member of seven genealogical organizations to include the Daughters of the American Colonists (former Georgia State Regent and organizing Regent for the Mary Musgrove Chapter), Daughters of the American Revolution (organizing Regent for the Philadelphia Winn Chapter and member of the National Speakers Staff), United States Daughters of 1812 (former Georgia State Registrar and assisted with the organization of the Benjamin Hardin Chapter), Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars (National Organizing Secretary General, former National Corresponding Secretary General, and former Georgia State Governor), Magna Charta Dames (former State Regent), First Families of Georgia (Charter member), and Colonial Dames XVII Century. She organized a Children of the American Revolution chapter, and proved her ancestry back to three Barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Charta in 1215.

She married the love of her life, the late John Bradley, in 1997. After their retirement, they lived between the United States and Northern Ireland until returning fulltime to LaGrange in 2012. Sally Sue and John travelled extensively throughout the world as they were both interested in history and different cultures. Sally Sue has visited 61 countries, all 50 states and all 10 Canadian provinces.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, John Bradley. She is survived by two daughters, Patricia (Brian) Cronin, of Dunwoody, Georgia and Beth (Wes) Vinyard, of Roswell, Georgia; one son, Jim Crawford, of Woodstock, Georgia; five half-siblings; and six grandchildren.

A Funeral Service will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 207 N Greenwood St, LaGrange, GA 30240, US, on April 20, 2026, at 11:00 am. With a Committal Service to follow, at Hillview Annex in LaGrange.

All arrangements are made by Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, 1010 Mooty Bridge Road, LaGrange, GA 30240 (706) 884-8636.

Those wishing to share a condolence or remembrance with the family may do so by visiting www.shlagrange.com